A World in Colour
by LittleMissSarcasm14
Summary: "You know, I think I've figured out what it is that you want in life." "Oh, and what's that?" "You want a passionate love, one that drives you crazy. A love you can't control, an adventure. A fairy tale love with a twist. Life on the Ark is too dull for you, a girl who wants to experience the world in colour."
1. Pilot

**Hey guys! So, welcome to my The 100 fanfic. I fell in love with show right from the first minute of the first episode and finally decided to write a story about it. I know I'm using Nina Dobrev and the name Elena, but I've always loved the name and I absolutely adore Nina, so I'm just gonna roll with it :P**

* * *

"You know, I think I've figured out what it is that you want in life." The handsome cadet sat in front of me says.

Leaning forward on the table, I raise a brow out of curiosity and ask "Oh, and what's that?" with a smile.

He simply leans closer to me and grins. "You want a passionate love, one that drives you crazy. A love you can't control, an adventure. A fairy tale love with a twist. Life on the Ark is too dull for you, a girl who wants to experience the world in colour."

A smirk appears on my lips. "Well then, I'd better find this love fast since all I'm surrounded by are these plain grey walls."

* * *

**Elena's POV**

I smiled slightly as I thought back to one of my last, and favourite, conversations with Bellamy. I remembered every detail of the conversation and him. His dark hair was relatively short and pushed back, I wonder if he's kept it short? Or has he grown it? His brown eyes, much darker than my own, sparkled with mischief as he thought he had me all figured out. That annoying, smug grin that I loved to hate danced across his lips. He had always been amused by my love for fairy tales, but I couldn't help it. They were an escape from the sad reality I live in. True, I thought that the princesses could do with being a little more kick-ass, but hey, they're still pretty loveable. My mom always told me that I could write my own fairy tale, that I was in charge of my own story and that I could be whatever kind of princess I wanted to be. Hence, Bellamy's favourite nickname for me; Princess. Original, I know. I tapped my fingers against the metal floor as my thoughts turned to Clarke, my blonde best friend who was practically my sister. My mom was a doctor along with Abby, Clarke's mom, but was also close with Jake, Clarke's dad, since they grew up together and I have always thought of them as a second set of parents. I had always been jealous of Clarke's golden locks and pretty blue eyes and had made sure to let her know about it, but she would simply shrug it off with a laugh. She's not very good at accepting compliments. All I can do is hope they're all safe. I let out a frustrated sigh as I remember one person who I knew for sure wasn't safe. Octavia Blake. The beautiful little sister of Bellamy, who was locked up for being born. Completely unfair and totally not her fault. She still had a year left before being reviewed as opposed to my measly 2 weeks, so that's something, I guess. I truly felt for her; she has been locked up one way or another her entire life and no one, except me, Bellamy and her mother, has been able to witness her bright, charming personality. Life on the Ark really does suck. I sighed and let out a small groan of annoyance. I'm so damn bored. Being locked up is no party, it does give you a lot of time to think, though. You see, any type of crime is taken very seriously on the Ark and not even my father, the almighty Marcus Kane, could save me from here…not that he would. We don't exactly get along. It's funny, when I was younger I adored my father just as much as he adored me. But then my mom died, or rather was killed for saving the life of a little girl (she gave the girl a dose of medicine that exceeded the limit stated in the law), and everything changed. He became cold, distant and selfish, craving the power that only the Chancellor could have and I grew up, finally realising that life on the Ark wasn't so great. Oh right, I should probably introduce myself. I'm Elena Marie Kane, it's nice to meet you.

* * *

About an hour after my pity party, the door to my cell slammed open. I shot up as I saw two guards walk in. "Woah there, boys. I still have another two weeks, you've got the wrong cell."

One of the guards, a short blonde man with cold grey eyes, glared at me. "Prisoner 320, face the wall."

"Well, since you asked so nicely…" I muttered bitterly, turning to face the wall. Oh look, more grey. Yay.

"Less of the attitude, Kane." I scoffed at the use of my last name, screwing my nose up out of distaste, that's how people refer to my father. "Now, hold out your right arm."

"I'd rather not." I protested before hearing the click of their weapons. I quickly stuck my arm out, rolling my eyes. I suddenly felt several needles pierce my wrist. "OW! You son of a bitch, what the hell?" And then I kinda lost it…I elbowed the tall, black haired guard, who had put some kind of bracelet on my wrist, and shoved the blonde guard out of the way, making a break for the exit. I got out and saw a frantic blonde crying and an older woman trying to calm her down. Wait a minute… "Clarke? Abby?" I asked breathlessly. Tears gathered in my eyes as I threw myself at them.

"Oh my god, Lena!" Clarke sobbed, wrapping her arms around me and sobbing into my hair.

I glanced at Abby, who was also hugging me. "Abby, what's happening?"

Clarke's head snapped up as she looked at Abby. "They're killing us all, aren't they, reducing population to make more time for the rest of you?"

Abby shook her her head. "No Clarke, you are not being executed. Girls, you're being sent to the ground, all one hundred of you." She smiled.

"What?" I asked, eyes widened. We're going home?

"But it's not safe. No. No." Clarke argued. Abby merely shh'd her. "We get reviewed at eighteen." She's holding out hope for that. Tch, that is so Clarke.

"Wait, what are you even in here for?" I asked. I really should have paid attention to all of the gossip during the rare times we could have actual human interaction, but no I had to be bitter and isolate myself.

Abby placed a hand on my shoulder. "Not now, Elena. Both of you listen to me, the rules have changed. This gives you a chance to live." She turned to Clarke. "Your instincts will tell you to take care of everybody else first, just like your father. But be careful, I can't lose you, too. I love you so much." She kissed her head as a guard shot a dart in the back of Clarke's neck.

"Clarke!" I yelled, catching her as she fell. I slowly lowered her to the ground and looked up at Abby. "My father?" I wondered, looking around for him.

"He's not here." Abby said quietly. "But he loves you, Elena."

I laughed bitterly. "Sure he does."

She took my face in her hands. "Be careful down there, Sweetheart. Look after yourself, I don't want to lose you either." I felt something stab my neck as she kissed the top of my head. The last thing I remember is falling into Abby's arms, still clutching onto Clarke.

* * *

I groaned as my head rolled around. "Where am I?"

"On the drop ship." I heard from my left. I looked over and saw Clarke peering back at me. "Are you okay?"

"My head's a little fuzzy, but I'll be fine. You?" I answered.

"Me too, except…"

"Except what?"

She frowned. "Wells is here." She mumbled angrily.

My eyes widened and I lurched myself forward. "What the hell are you doing on here?" I hissed loudly as I caught sight of my friend's face.

Wells gave me a sheepish smile. "When I found out they were sending prisoners to the ground, I got myself arrested. I came for you guys." He totally just came for Clarke. The drop ship suddenly jolted, causing a slight squeal from me.

"What was that?" Clarke sounded scared. Can't say I blame her.

"That was the atmosphere." Wells informed us.

The screens surrounding us suddenly turned on, showing Chancellor Jaha, Wells' dad. "Prisoners of The Ark, hear me now. You've been given a second chance, and as your Chancellor, it is my hope that you see this as not just a chance for you, but a chance for all of us, indeed for mankind itself. We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. If the odds of survival were better, we would've sent others. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you expendable." Nice.

"Your dad is a dick, Wells." One boy said. After that speech, can't say I disagree… Various laughs sounded.

I listened to Jaha's speech again. "Those crimes will be forgiven, your records wiped clean. The drop site has been chosen carefully. Before the last war, Mount Weather was a military base built within a mountain. It was to be stocked with enough non-perishables to sustain three hundred people for up to two years."

"Spacewalk bandit strikes again."

"Woo!"

"Go, Finn!" There were a couple of shouts and when I turned to look at what they were yelling about, I saw some idiot floating about the drop ship.

'Finn' was a guy with relatively long, brown hair and a beanie on his head. He floated past us with a cheeky grin on his face and looked at Wells. "Check it out. Your dad floated me, after all." He chuckled. I rolled my eyes at his lame joke.

Wells kept a straight face, not the slightest bit amused. "You should strap in before the parachutes deploy."

A couple of clicks were heard and another two people go out of their seats. "Hey, you two, stay put if you want to live." Clarke warned.

"People can be really stupid." I commented under my breath, shaking my head at the two kids who followed Finn out of their seats.

Jaha's speech continued in the background, but no one was really listening. "Mount Weather is life. You must locate those supplies immediately."

Finn glance at Clarke, curiosity clear in his eyes. "Hey, you're the traitor who's been in solitary for a year."

My eyes widened. "Wait, what? Clarke, what is he talking about?" I asked the blonde.

Clarke ignored me. "You're the idiot who wasted a month of oxygen on an illegal spacewalk."

"But it was fun. I'm Finn." Finn shrugged, introducing himself.

"Your one responsibility is stay alive." I heard Jaha say.

The drop ship jolted rather abruptly, sending Finn and the others who got out of their seats into the walls of the ship. "Oh my god! Finn, are you okay?" I yelled. All I got in response was a groan. Sparks started appearing out of nowhere, causing everyone to flinch.

Wells started panicking. "Retrorockets ought to have fired by now."

Breathing heavily, Clarke responded. "Okay. Everything on this ship is a hundred years old, right? Just give it a second."

"Clarke, there's something I have to tell you. I'm sorry I got your father arrested."

"What? Why am I only hearing about this now?" I screamed over the noise of the ship and the others yelling.

I noticed tears gather in Clarke's eyes as she stayed facing forward, refusing to look at Wells. "Don't you talk about my father." She snapped.

"Please, I can't die knowing that you hate me." Wells begged.

Clarke finally turned to him. "They didn't arrest my father, Wells. They executed him. I do hate you." There were multiple crashes before the ship finally landed and everything went quiet.

"Listen. No machine hum." I heard a guy, who I believe is called Monty, say.

"Whoa. That's a first." His friend noted. Jasper, was it? We all started undoing our belts and getting up.

Clarke went to walk over to Finn, but I grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Explain. Now." I demanded.

She looked down, avoiding my gaze, and shook her head. "Please just give me a minute." She walked over to Finn, who was hovering over one of the guys who followed him out of his seat. He checked for a pulse. "Finn, is he breathing?" Finn shook his head, a solemn look upon his face.

"The outer door is on the lower level. Let's go." A random guy shouted.

Clarke quickly got up and ran after him. "No. We can't just open the doors." I sighed and leaned down next to the other guy that followed Finn out of his seat. I felt for a pulse. Nothing.

"Is he-" Finn Started, but couldn't finish.

"Yeah, he's dead." I whispered. Finn sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

* * *

I quickly climbed down the ladder to the lower level. "Clarke? Clarke?" I called out. Pushing my way through the crowd, my eyes finally landed on golden hair. I went up to her and grabbed her arm. "Hey-"

"Elena?" A deep voice asked. My body stiffened at the sound of the voice. It's not possible… I slowly turned to the front of the drop ship to find someone I didn't think I'd ever see again. There stood Bellamy Blake; hair slicked back, large smile on his face, eyes lit up.

"Bellamy?" I whispered. And for about the millionth time today, my eyes watered. Okay slight exaggeration, but today has definitely been emotionally exhausting. I shook my head, not believing what I was seeing.

"C'mere." He beckoned me over. Letting out a disbelieving laugh, I launched myself into his arms, throwing mine around his neck. He wrapped his arms around me tightly, as if I was about vanish. "I missed you." He mumbled into my hair.

"I missed you too." I pulled back enough to see his face and began my inquisition. "But how are you here? How is this possible?" Bellamy opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by someone else speaking up.

"Bellamy? Elena?" A quiet voice questioned. A brunette climbed down the ladder and pushed through the crowd towards us.

"That's the girl they hid under the floor." I rolled my eyes at whoever said that. Grow up. Octavia walked up to us, shock written all over her face at the sight of us - more specifically, Bellamy.

"My God, look how big you are." I heard Bellamy say quietly, the smile returning to his lips.

Octavia hugged him tightly and then pulled back to look at him. "What the hell are you wearing, a guard's uniform?"

He was quick to defend himself. "I borrowed it to get on the drop ship. Someone has got to keep an eye on you two." He glanced towards me and then back to his sister, who smiled and hugged him again. She pulled back, looked at me for a moment and then threw herself at me.

I giggled and hugged her. "I missed you too, O."

"Where's your wristband?" I heard the familiar voice of Clarke inquire.

Sighing, I glanced over at Clarke with a warning look. "Clarke-"

I didn't get to finish my warning, though, because Octavia pulled away from me and glared harshly at the blonde. "Do you mind? I haven't seen my brother and best friend in a year." Clarke flinched slightly at Octavia's use of the term 'best friend'.

"No one has a brother."

"That's Octavia Blake, the girl they found hidden in the floor." Octavia tried to pounce on whoever said that, but Bellamy held her back.

"Octavia, Octavia, no. Let's give them something else to remember you by." Bellamy suggested.

The extremely pissed off Octavia turned around and directed her annoyance at him. "Yeah? Like what?"

Bellamy smirked at her, not minding her snippy tone. "Like being the first person on the ground in a hundred years." Octavia's face lit up at his proposal, grinning victoriously and nodding her head in agreement. I watched as Bellamy turned around and pulled the lever down. Everyone was blinded by a bright light and we were met by a gentle breeze. It was beautiful, magical even. The trees were tall and filled with vibrant green leaves, the earth looked fresh and slightly damp. And the air… the air was incredible. I inhaled deeply, loving the feeling of the fresh air filling my lungs. Refocusing my attention back on O, I watched as she walked forward, albeit a little hesitantly, but it was obvious that she was eager to get out there. Like me, she inhaled a deep breath before letting it out. O deserved to be the first person on the ground after everything she'd been through. I glanced over at Bellamy and watched as his eyes flickered between the view and Octavia. He turned to me, obviously feeling my gaze on him. I gave him a small smile before turning back to Octavia, very conscious of the fact that his gaze lingered on me.

Octavia continued walking until she reached the edge of the drop ship. I subconsciously leaned forward in anticipation. She jumped on the ground, threw her hands in the air and yelled. "We're back, bitches!" Everyone cheered and ran out after her. I lost track of Clarke, Bellamy and Octavia in the crowd and decided to wait the others out, moving to the side of the ship to avoid getting pushed. Once everyone was out, I walked to the edge of the drop ship, just as Octavia did only minutes ago. I glanced around, taking it all in before a hand was offered to me.

"Coming down, Princess?" Bellamy asked with a charming smile. I grinned at him and took his hand, hopping off of the metal and onto the soft ground.

"Wow…" I said breathlessly.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

I shook my head. "It's more than just amazing, Bell, it's-it's…I can't even describe it!"

He chuckled at my lack of words and gave me hand a squeeze. "I know what you mean." And I didn't doubt that one bit, he always knew what I was thinking and feeling. Unfortunately, before I could allow myself to be selfish and indulge in the Earth even further, I had to sort things out with Clarke and Wells. Seeing them fight, hearing Clarke say that she hated Wells, hurt. It was awful, because they had been so close to one another before. I guess thinking of my friends being at odds with each other made me frown and look upset as Bellamy tugged on my hand, making me tumble into him. "What's wrong?" I couldn't answer him because someone spoke before I could even formulate a response in my head.

"Turn that frown upside down, Elena. We're home!" Octavia cheered, latching onto my arm.

I gave her a weak smile. "I know, it's just…" Both Blakes looked expectantly at me. "I really have to find Clarke." I was highly aware of the questioning, and annoyed might I add, looks the Blake siblings sent me. Neither of them relinquished their hold on me. "Please, you guys? It's important." They both sighed and, in sync with each other, nodded their heads with the exact same brief eye roll. It was kinda creepy how alike they were. "Thank you." I quickly kissed Bell's cheek and hugged O, ruffling her hair once I pulled back, before running off to find Clarke and Wells.

* * *

It didn't take long to find them. Clarke's head of golden locks was pretty hard to miss. She was hovering near the ramp of the drop ship, using it as a table to look at something.

"Whatcha got there?" I asked, approaching her.

She seemed startled for a moment, but quickly brushed it off and returned her gaze back to whatever she was holding. "It's a map of where we need to be."

"So a map of this place then?" I waved my arms around to gesture to the area surrounding us.

"Not exactly…" She answered nervously.

"What do you mean?"

"We got problems." Wells said, coming up from behind us. "The communications system is dead. I went to the roof. A dozen panels are missing. Heat fried the wires." He frowned.

Clarke looked at him and sighed. "Well, all that matters right now is getting to Mount Weather."

"Wait, we aren't on Mount Weather?" I asked.

Clarke shook her head sadly. "See? Look." She pointed to a map. "This is us." She drew a line to another point. "This is where we need to get to if we want to survive."

Wells looked impressed. "Where'd you learn to do that?" Clarke was silent. "Your father." He answered knowingly.

Now would be a good time to step in. "Is he really…gone?" My words were hesitant from not wanting to know and not knowing how to phase.

I heard Clarke swallow and then take a deep breath, probably trying to avoid letting her voice crack. "Yes." And for once in my life, I was speechless. Jake was really gone.

"Ah, cool, a map." A voice said from behind us. Jasper sauntered over and grinned at me and Clarke. "They got a bar in this town? I'll buy you a beer." He joked.

I chuckled and grinned at him, reaching a hand up to mess his hair. "Sure thing, buddy." He was kind of adorable, really. He and Monty.

Wells, however, definitely did appreciate the joke. He grabbed Jasper's arm and shoved him back. "You mind?"

"Whoa, hey, hey, hey, hands off of him. He's with us." A guy with his own little posse walked towards us. I think his name's Murphy. I may not know the latest gossip, but I do know names. Well, some of them.

Wells held his hands up. "Relax. We're just trying to figure out where we are."

"We're on the ground. That not good enough for you?" Bellamy's voice cut in. I sighed, knowing trouble was right around the corner.

Wells looked around and walked over to Bellamy. "We need to find Mount Weather. You heard my father's message. That has to be our first priority." Clarke walked over to Wells and stood beside him. I groaned and reluctantly followed, not really wanting to get involved.

"Screw your father." Octavia smirked. Oh god, she really has become like her brother. She's even picked up on Bellamy's annoying traits. "What, you think you're in charge here, you and little Miss Sunshine?" She sneered at Wells and Clarke.

My protective instincts perked up at that as I walked over to stand in between the four of them. "Okay, cool it, you guys. Bellamy, Octavia," they both looked at me, "we're just trying to figure things out, okay?" They both seemed to relax at that, but, of course, Clarke had to let her thoughts be known.

"Do you think we care who's in charge? We need to get to Mount Weather not because the Chancellor said so, but because the longer we wait, the hungrier we'll get and the harder this'll be. How long do you think we'll last without those supplies? We're looking at a twenty-mile trek, okay? So if we want to get there before dark, we need to leave now."

Bellamy was quick to respond. "I got a better idea. You two go, find it for us." He looked at Clarke and Wells. "Let the privileged do the hard work for a change." Okay, now I'm offended. There was a quiet murmur of agreement from the rest of the delinquents.

"Okay, fine. If that's what you want, then let's go." I shrugged, looking at Clarke and Wells, about to walk up to them. Someone grabbed my arm before I could.

Bellamy frowned at me, not liking what I was doing. "No, not you."

I turned around to face him. "Why not me? I'm 'privileged' as well, aren't I?" I said angrily.

A look of guilt passed over his face. He leaned closer to me, "you don't know what's out there," he said lowly.

I appreciated the worry, but I wasn't about to abandon my friends. "That's exactly why I'm going. I'm not letting Clarke go alone." I matched his tone and leaned closer to him. "You protect your sister and I'll protect mine."

Wells spoke up. "That's not the point! We all need to go." He was suddenly shoved from behind, making me jerk forward instinctively, but Bellamy held me back.

"Look at this, everybody…the Chancellor of Earth." Murphy snickered. I heard Bellamy and Octavia chuckle along with the other delinquents.

"Think that's funny?" Wells growled. Murphy suddenly kicked Wells' leg out from underneath him, making fall to the ground.

"Wells!" Clarke and I yelled at the same time, both trying to get to him, but being held back.

"Bellamy, let go of me!" I hissed, struggling against him.

"You're not getting in the middle of that." He replied steadily, tugging on my arm so that I fell into him and he could wrapped his arms around me for a better grip. Everyone was cheering, watching the fight. Giving up on trying to escape, I turned back to the fight. Murphy kept pretending to lunge at Wells, who had his fists up ready to fight.

Finn hopped off of the drop ship and landed in between the two, causing me to let out a sigh of relief. Everyone fell silent as they listened to what Finn had to say. "Kid's got one leg. How about you wait until it's a fair fight?"

Octavia walked over to him with a flirty grin on her pretty face. "Hey, spacewalker, rescue me next." Finn smiled at her before walking away. She watched him walk off with a dreamy look on her face. Bellamy finally let me go, well except for his grip on my arm, and marched us over to Octavia. He gave her a stern look. "What? He's cute."

Bellamy looked around before sharply stating "He's a criminal."

"We're all criminals. That's why we're down here." I added, receiving a look that told me to shut up. Rude much?

Octavia smiled at me and then looked back at her brother. "You heard her, they're all criminals."

Bellamy grabbed Octavia's arm and started dragging us both away. "Look, O. I came down here to protect you."

I tugged my arm out of his grip. "I'm just going to leave you two your sibling bickering." I received two sharp 'Blake glares', as I had previously named them. "Yep, definitely leaving." I confirmed and walked off to find someone who wouldn't bite my head off.

* * *

Clarke and Finn were talking about going to Mount Weather, gearing up to go. "We're leaving now? Great." I grinned at them as I came to stand by Clarke. I was excited by the prospect of getting to explore Earth even more.

Clarke shook her head at me. "You're not going."

"What? Why not?"

She glanced around and pulled me closer to her, looking as though she was about to tell me a secret. "I need you to keep an eye on things around here, especially with your friend seemingly taking charge. How do you even know him?" She asked in a hushed voice.

I never told Clarke about Bellamy, though I'm not sure why. I think, at first at least, it was because I was being childish and selfish and didn't want to share him with anyone else. I grew out of those thoughts, but I guess it was because of Octavia. I didn't want to have to lie to her and make up stories about the time I spent with Bellamy, so I just never told her about it. She did walk in on a weird moment once, though… "Long story and it will be fine for us to leave for a day or so." I argued.

"No, I need you to keep an eye on Wells as well."

"Fine." I conceded with a pout. "But you better come back safe," I flashed her a wicked grin and raised my voice, "Clarkieboo." I cooed.

She groaned loudly, throwing her head back. "Don't call me that."

"Clarkieboo?" Finn snickered from behind me. Clarke gave him a deadly glare, which made him hold his hands up in mock defeat.

Wells brought us out of our playful conversation by reminding us of the harsh reality we were living in. "How are the two of you gonna carry enough food for a hundred?"

Finn looked behind him and grabbed two random people, who just so happened to be Monty and Jasper, patting their shoulders. "Four of us. Can we go now?"

"Sounds like a party. Make it five." Octavia skipped over, clapping her hands, and wherever Octavia is, Bellamy soon follows.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" Ah, here he is.

O rolled her eyes. "Going for a walk." Full of sarcasm that one. I'm thinking she picked that up from me more than Bellamy.

"Hey, were you trying to take this off?" Clarke suddenly asked, lifting up Finn's wrist.

Finn grinned. "Yeah. So?"

Clarke looked at him disbelievingly. "So this wristband transmits your vital signs to The Ark. Take it off, and they'll think you're dead."

"Should I care?"

"Well, I don't know. Do you want the people you love to think you're dead? Do you want them to follow you down here in two months? Because they won't if they think we're dying."

Finn looked at the ground shamefully. "Okay."

Clarke nodded. "Now let's go."

"Clarke." I called out, making her stop and turn back. "In all seriousness, stay safe." She smiled and nodded, waving goodbye.

Octavia looked back at Bellamy for permission. He rolled his eyes at her. "Go on." She grabbed his neck and kissed his cheek happily before running off.

"Well, may as well make ourselves useful. Let's go find us some water." I offered Wells a hand, which he took. I looked back at Bellamy and then turned back to Wells. "On second thoughts, you go ahead, I'll be there in a second." Wells nodded and hobbled off. "You, Mr. Overprotective Big Brother, actually let her go." I smirked.

Bellamy rolled his eyes at me. "She would have found a way to go anyway." I nodded in agreement. "I didn't realise you we're close with Sunshine and Chancellor, huh?"

"First of all, their names are Clarke and Wells. Second of all, of course I am, their parents are on the council, remember? Third of all, I do have other friends, believe it or not, and I've been best friends with Clarke my entire life, so could you at least try to be nice to them? For me?" I asked hopefully.

He sighed. "No promises, Princess." He kissed the top of my head before walking off. I shook my head at his stubbornness and went after Wells.

* * *

"So, what's going on with you and Clarke? And don't say 'nothing' or I'll hurt you." We were walking throw the woods looking for any signs of water and decided to gather some wood along the way.

"Well, what do you know?" He asked.

"Nothing, no one would tell me anything." I said in an exasperated voice. I wouldn't be asking if I knew!

"Well, Clarke was in prison for treason. Her father found a fault in the Ark's system. They're running out of oxygen, which is why we're down here." He explained.

I let it sink in for a minute. "That doesn't explain why Jake is…gone," I fumbled over the word uncomfortably, "and Clarke was arrested." I replied, my voice quiet.

"He wanted to tell the people of the Ark, but was told not to. He made a video about it anyway and was caught. He was floated for treason and they associated Clarke with his crime and put her in the skybox."

"That doesn't explain why Clarke hates-wait, you apologised for turning her father in." I remembered, looking at him with an accusing glare. Wells looked at me sadly. "Please tell me you didn't."

"It's what she believes so-"

"'What she believes'? So it wasn't you who told?" I stopped walking and stood in front of Wells, hands on hips. "Answer me, Wells." I knew I sounded like a demanding mother who was scolding her child for lying, but I couldn't help it.

He sighed. "No, I didn't."

"Who else knew about it, Wells?"

He looked away from me. "You can't tell Clarke any of this."

"Who knew?" I already knew the answer.

"It's better for her to hate me."

"Wells!" I didn't really want him to answer me.

He sighed and looked at me. "Look, I'm not sure, but as far as I know the only other person who knew was-was Abby." He watched me closely for a reaction, knowing how close I was with Jake and Abby.

My face hardened. "So you're letting the girl you love blame you for her father's death and hate you because you think you're protecting her?"

Wells nodded. "Please don't tell her." He pleaded.

I ran a hand through my hair. "It's not my place to say anything." He looked relieved. "Oh, Wells, you're such a good person. Come here." I pulled him into a tight hug. "Everything will be okay."

"Thanks." He hugged me back just as tightly. Something tells me he really needed a hug. "Anyway, what's with you and that guy?" He asked once we pulled away. We started walking again.

"Who, Bellamy?" He nodded. "I've known him since I was 10. Bumped into him in the hallway. He picked up the book I dropped; my book of fairy tales."

Wells grinned. "You used to be obsessed with that book. I remember you took it with you everywhere you went."

I laughed slightly. "Well, he saw it and started asking me about it. We began meeting with each other more and more to talk about the book, which I thought was weird at the time, but it eventually made sense; he wanted something to tell Octavia about. Anyway, eventually we became close friends and didn't need the topic of fairy tales to hold a conversation with each other." I smiled at the memories my little story brought.

"Did you know about his sister?"

"Mmhmm, since I was 11."

Wells nodded slowly, probably surprised that I went lied to everyone, but I guess he ultimately decided that it didn't matter much anymore and glided past that fact. "He seems like kind of a jerk." He eventually admitted, rather sheepishly.

I sighed and looked down. "He's not usually like that, he's just protective, is all. Bell's a good guy really." I shrugged. Though he does seem kinda different now.

* * *

We threw the wood to the ground as Murphy and his little follower walked over to us.

"Find any water yet?" He asked.

Wells looked up, saw it was Murphy and reluctantly replied. "No, not yet, but-" He looked to the side and his words faltered. I raised a brow and looked at what he was looking at. On the side of the drop ship 'First Son, First to dye'. I wanted to slap Murphy. "-we're going back out if you want to come."

Murphy chuckled when he heard Wells hesitate. He brought his hand up to rub his face, purposefully showing off the knife in his hand. "You know, my father, he begged for mercy in the airlock chamber when your father floated him."

"Oh drop it, Murphy." I growled, taking a step forward.

"You got something to say, Princess?" Murphy taunted. I frowned at the use of Bellamy's nickname for me. Yeah, not so fond of it when it's coming from Murphy.

A hand was placed on the small of my back. "Everything okay here, Princess?"

I relaxed at the sound of Bellamy's voice. "Fine, just dealing with an idiot, no big deal." I told him nonchalantly. "Let's go, Wells."

"You spelled "die" wrong, geniuses." Wells informed them, more annoyed than anything else, as we left.

* * *

It was dark when we got back to the drop ship and there was a bunch of cheering going on. We walked towards it and I noticed a fire had been lit. Wells and I pushed through the crowd and saw a girl being held by her shoulders while she had her wrist held out, resting on a log. Murphy was trying to pry the wristband off of her with a knife.

Bellamy stood beside them. "Who's next?" He yelled once the bracelet was off.

"What the hell are you doing?" Wells asked, making Bellamy look over at him. He placed his hand on the chest of Murphy's follower, who was walking up to Wells, to keep him in place.

"We're liberating ourselves. What does it look like?" He answered with a smug grin.

"It looks like you're trying to get us all killed. The communication system is dead. These wristbands are all we got. Take them off, and the Ark will think we're dying, that it's not safe for them to follow."

Bellamy shook his head with a smile. "That's the point, Chancellor. We can take care of ourselves, can't we?"

"Yeah!" Everyone shouted, agreeing.

"You think this is a game? Those aren't just our friends and our parents up there. They're our farmers, our doctors, our engineers." Wells told them. Bellamy looked around, seemingly nervous that Wells might get everyone to agree with him. "I don't care what he tells you. We won't survive here on our own, and besides, if it really is safe, how could you not want the rest of our people to come down?"

"My people already are down." Bellamy pointed to the sky. "Those people locked my people up." He walked up to Wells. "Those people killed my mother for the crime of having a second child. Your father did that."

"My father didn't write the laws." Wells protested.

"No. He enforced them, but not anymore, not here. Here, there are no laws." Everyone cheered for him. "Here, we do whatever the hell we want whenever the hell we want. Now, you don't have to like it, Wells. You can even try to stop it or change it, kill me. You know why? Whatever the hell we want."

"Whatever the hell we want!" Murphy screamed loudly. Bellamy held his hand up to Murphy to emphasise his point. He had won this argument.

"Whatever the hell we want!" The others chanted.

Bellamy looked down at me. "So, what do you say, Princess? You next?"

I scoffed at him. "No way." I turned around and walked off just as a loud clap of thunder sounded.

"Rain! Real rain!" I heard someone shout as rain began to pour down. I looked up to the sky and grinned, loving the feeling of rain against my face.

Someone grabbed my arm and turned me to face them. "What's your problem? You're always going on about how you like to go against everything your father wants." Bellamy asked with a frown on his face.

"Yeah, but nothing like this, Bellamy! I don't want him to think I'm dead. He's already lost my mom, I don't want him to think he's lost me, too. He's all I have left, Bell, you know that." I finished softly, trying to ignore the wounded look on his face.

"Elena-"

"No, look," I didn't give him chance to explain himself or convince me to change my mind, "I won't keep you from doing this; I can't keep you from doing this. But I make my own choices, Bell, and you can't force me to take my wristband off. My father may be an ass and we may not get along, but he's still my father." Snatching my arm from him, I stormed off somewhere to the side of camp. I was far enough away to be out of the way of everyone else but close enough to still hear and see everything. After all, I didn't completely feel comfortable out in the open on my own.

* * *

Surprisingly, trees are relatively comfy to lean against and I was able to finally get some rest. I didn't know how long I'd been asleep for, all I knew was which was that I was awoken by the feeling of someone tucking my hair behind my ear. I opened my eyes and looked up to find Bellamy smiling down on me. "Bellamy?" My voice was croaky.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I just wanted to check on you." He whispered as he stroked my hair.

I rubbed my eyes. "I'm fine."

"Good." There was a slight pause where Bellamy licked his lips and looked at the ground, clearing trying to find the right words to say. His gaze flickered back up to meet my own. "I'm sorry about earlier, Elena."

Smiling sweetly up at him, I whispered back, "it's fine. I forgive you, even if you were being a jerk."

Bellamy rolled his eyes and chuckled, placing a kiss on my nose. "Go back to sleep, Princess." He then kissed my forehead. I merely 'hmm'd' sleepily in response, leaning back and closing my eyes.


	2. Earth Skills

**Elena's POV**

I let out a groan as I stretched my aching muscles. Okay, so maybe that tree wasn't as comfy as I thought… Pushing myself off the ground, I walked around, looking for someone familiar to talk to a.k.a Wells or Bellamy. I should probably make some new friends. Kids ran past me, cheering loudly whilst trying to catch one another. Ugh, how can they be so lively in the morning? I found Wells walking around with some spare clothes in his hands. "Morning! Where are they from?" I nodded my head towards the clothes.

"Hey, I got them from those two kids who died during the landing." He replied.

I looked down. "Oh." I had forgotten about them. "You buried them, huh?" Wells nodded. "Sorry you had to do that alone."

He bumped his shoulder into mine. "Don't worry about it."

* * *

We continued walking around camp and had just reached the drop ship when a voice stopped us.

"Hey, where'd you get the clothes?" A very attractive boy with pretty blue eyes asked Wells.

"Buried the two kids who died during the landing." Wells informed him.

Blue eyes nodded, apparently impressed by Wells' thinking. "Smart. You know, I'll take it from here." He reached out to grab the clothes. "There's always a market for-"

Wells quickly snatched them away. "We share based on need, just like back home."

"You still don't get it, do you, Chancellor?" A smug, deep voice said. I turned around and saw a shirtless Bellamy walk out. I'll admit, I had to work hard to keep my eyes on his face, he is _very _attractive… His dark hair was now in its natural messy curls, flat against his forehead. I much prefer it this way. I shook my head, trying to get rid of these thoughts. He's Bellamy, one of my best friends. I should not be thinking these kind of things. A pretty girl with dark hair, dressed in some pants and a sports bra, walked out after him and I felt an odd weight on my chest. They kissed and she walked off. I frowned at the scene before noticing Bellamy looking directly at me. However, he looked away when he realised I caught him staring. He looked…guilty? Why would he look guilty? His voice snapped me out of my thoughts as I watched him step closer to Wells. "This is home now. Your father's rules no longer apply." He snatched a t-shirt from the pile in Wells' hands. Wells lunged at him, but blue eyes held him back. "Oh, no, no, Atom. Atom, hold up." He held the shirt up with a challenging look on his face. "You want it back? Take it." It was silent for a minute before Wells gave in and threw the clothes on the ground.

It was then I noticed his bare wrist. I grabbed it and held it up in front of him. "Where is your wristband?"

Wells' brow furrowed as he glared at Bellamy, who was pulling the shirt on. "Ask him." He spat out angrily.

I turned sharply and marched up to Bellamy, lightly shoving his chest. Of course my push had no effect on him because he's bigger and stronger than me. I like to think it added effect to my demanding words, though. "What the hell have you done?"

Bellamy sighed and looked down at me. "I'm doing what's best for us, Princess."

"No, don't 'Princess' me! What happened to 'whatever the hell we want'? Because I'm pretty sure Wells didn't _willingly_ take his wristband off, did he?" I growled, crossing my arms over my chest. However, before he could answer, a scream rang out. We all snapped our heads in the direction of the scream before running towards it.

* * *

Everyone was crowding around the fire, where Murphy was holding a girl over it. I could tell she was trying not to struggle because she'd probably burn herself if she did. "Bellamy. Check it out. We want the Ark to think that the ground is killing us, right? Figure it'll look better if we suffer a little bit first."

Wells jumped into action, running over and shoving Murphy back, making him drop the girl. "Let her go!"

I ran over to the girl and crouched down beside her. "Hey, you okay?" I asked gently, placing my hand on her shoulder. She nodded her head shakily. Looking up at Murphy, I sneered at him, "you disgust me."

"You can stop this." I heard Wells state. He was looking at Bellamy.

Bellamy smirked in return. "Stop this? I'm just getting started." I shook my head at him. Murphy suddenly got back up and punched Wells in the face.

"Fight!" I heard someone shout.

"No, stop it!" I quickly jumped up and shoved Murphy, who pushed me to the side. Fortunately for me, someone caught me before I fell. I looked up and saw Bellamy looking down at me, worried.

"You okay, Princess?" He asked.

I pushed myself away from him. "Fine." I replied curtly. I noticed him frown at me from the corner of my eye.

"Don't you see you can't control this?" Wells said to Bellamy after he had Murphy pinned to the floor. He got up and walked over to us.

From behind him, I saw a figure race towards him. "WELLS LOOK OUT!" I went to push him out of the way, but Bellamy grabbed my waist and pulled me back into his chest. Wells turned sharply on his heel and pushed Murphy back.

"You're dead." Murphy hissed, holding his knife up.

"Wait!" A voice boomed. The hands on my waist were removed as Bellamy stepped forward. Finally, he's stopping it. I sighed, relieved that he'd had some common sense knocked into him. "Fair fight." What? WHAT? He threw a knife down on the ground in front of Wells.

"Bellamy, you can't be serious!" I exclaimed, still shocked at how stupid he can be. He returned to my side. "Why are you doing this, Bell? Murphy listens to you. He'll stop if you tell him to. Please?" I begged. "For me?" I gave him my best puppy dog eyes.

Bellamy sighed and shook his head at me. "Don't look at me like that, Elena. I'm not stopping this, not even for you. It's between the two of them."

I rolled my eyes. "God, I've never been surrounded by this much testosterone. It's nauseating." He chuckled. I slapped his chest. "Don't laugh, I'm pissed at you."

I saw Murphy try to slash Wells with his knife. "This is for my father!" He declared.

Wells quickly grabbed him and got him in a headlock, holding the knife up to his neck. "Drop it!"

"Wells!" A blonde head popped up from behind a tree. "Let him go!" Clarke ordered. Finn came up behind her.

I stepped forward. "No, Clarke, you don't understand-"

"Why are you letting him do this?" She glared at me.

My eyes widened in disbelief. "I'm not _letting_ him do anything!" I snapped. Wells let Murphy go, pushing him away, but Murphy span around and lunged at him again.

Luckily, Bellamy had enough decency to catch Murphy and push him back this time. "Whoa! Hey!" Murphy continued to thrash around. "Enough, Murphy." Murphy finally calmed down when Octavia came limping along with her arm over Monty's shoulder. Bellamy quickly let go of Murphy and ran over to her. "Octavia. Are you all right?" He asked, taking her from Monty and lifting her over a log.

"Yeah." She answered, though I could tell she was in pain. The two came closer to the rest of us, stopping when they were beside me.

I stood in front of Octavia and place a hand on her shoulder, rubbing my thumb across it comfortingly. "I'll take a look at that in a minute, okay?" I offered, referring to her injured leg. She nodded and gave me a grateful smile.

"Where's the food?" Bellamy questioned.

Finn sat on a tree trunk. "We didn't make it to Mount Weather."

I frowned at this and turned to Finn, confused. "What do you mean?"

Clarke looked panicked. "We were attacked."

Wells stepped towards Clarke, obviously worried about her. "Attacked? By what?"

"Not what; who." Finn answered for her. "It turns out, when the last man from the ground died on the Ark, he wasn't the last Grounder."

"Are you serious?" I breathed out nervously. We weren't alone and they attacked us which meant they were enemies. How is a group of kids supposed to take on a group of grounders, who have been here a lot longer than us and probably have more supplies and weapons than us. A large, warm hand rested on my shoulder and I relaxed slightly, knowing it was Bellamy.

"It's true. Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong. There are people here, survivors. The good news is, that means we can survive. Radiation won't kill us." Clarke announced.

"Yeah, the bad news is the Grounders will." Finn added quietly.

Wells looked around. "Where's the kid with the goggles?"

I copied his action. "Is Jasper okay?"

Clarke looked at me sadly and shook her head. "Jasper was hit." She turned to Wells. "They took him." She went to look at the ground, but her blue gaze fell upon Wells' wrist. Uh oh. "Where is your wristband?" She inquired, looking up at Wells. I saw her glance over to my wrist, her face slightly relaxing when she saw my wristband was still there.

Wells snatched his wrist away and glared at Bellamy. "Ask him." I faced Bellamy, who had dropped his hand from my shoulder.

"How many?" Clarke queried.

Murphy smirked, answering for his 'leader'. "Twenty-four and counting." We all looked at him, eyes widened at the answer.

I didn't realise that many had taken them off. My eyes settled on Bellamy, who had already been focusing on my reaction. "24? Why are you doing this?" I asked him quietly. He didn't say anything, just tried to grab my hand, but I pulled it away before he could and stepped closer to Clarke.

"You idiots." Clarke began, looking around at everyone before turning back towards Bellamy. "Life support on the Ark is failing. That's why they brought us down here. They need to know the ground is survivable again and we need their help against whoever is out there. If you take off your wristbands, you're not just killing them. You're killing us!" Clarke lectured them.

Bellamy looked at everyone as they looked down at the ground shamefully. He hesitated before standing directly in the middle of the circle. "We're stronger than you think." He declared. "Don't listen to her. She's one of the privileged." There's that word again. It's said with such accusation, like it's our fault that we were born into these lives. Bellamy is really pissing me off. "If they come down, she'll have it good. How many of you can say the same?" Everyone shared looks with each other, considering Bellamy's words. "We can take care of ourselves. That wristband on your arm? It makes you a prisoner. We are not prisoners anymore!" You never were a prisoner, Mr Leader. "They say they'll forgive your crimes. I say you're not criminals! You're fighters, survivors! The Grounders should worry about us!" Everyone cheered for him as Bellamy glanced towards Clarke with a smug expression. Clarke shook her head angrily and marched off with Monty and I following her.

"What do we do now?" Monty asked.

Clarke looked straight ahead as she answered, the determination clear in her voice. "Now we go after Jasper."

I stopped walking as I remembered Octavia. "I'm coming with you, so come and find me when you're ready to leave. I have to take a look at Octavia's leg." Clarke nodded and walked off with Monty.

* * *

I walked over to the Blake siblings. Octavia was perched on a log as Bellamy crouched down looking at the wound on her leg. I nudged Bellamy's shoulder lightly. "Move out the way." He glanced up at me and nodded, moving to the side. My fingers lightly grabbed her thigh as I moved her leg from side to side to inspect the wound. It was relatively long and quite deep, but wasn't bleeding too badly anymore. All in all, she'll live. Grabbing a wet cloth, I began to dab the area around the wound to clean off the dry blood.

Octavia let out a small groan of pain. Peering down at me, she grinned. "What's the verdict, doc?"

I gave a small laugh. "Well, the bleeding has calmed down, so that's good. It doesn't seem to be infected and I'll clean it and bandage it up to keep it that way. You will just have to walk the pain off, though. That is unless someone miraculously has any painkillers handy." I used the cloth to tie it around her leg as a bandage.

Octavia nodded understandingly and smiled at me again. "Thanks, Lena."

"What the hell was it?" Bellamy asked Octavia.

"I don't know. The others said it looked like a giant snake." She informed her brother.

"You could have been killed."

"She would have been if Jasper didn't jump in to pull her out." A voice said from behind us. We all turned to look at Clarke, who walked over with Wells.

Octavia began to stand up. "You guys leaving? I'm coming, too."

"No, no. No way. Not again." Bellamy protested, pushing O back down onto the log.

O began to say something, but Clarke cut her off. "He's right. Your leg's just gonna slow us down."

"Okay, now that we've sorted that out, let's go." I said, stepping towards Clarke.

Bellamy grabbed my hand. "You're not going either."

Yanking my hand out of his, I glared at him. "You don't get to tell me what to do, Bellamy. Besides, I'm one of the 'privileged' so why do you care what I do?"

Bellamy groaned slightly. "You know I didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah, you did!"

"Not about you!"

"That's not the point!" I'm so done with this argument. I turned away from him and grabbed Clarke's wrist to pull her away. "Let's go now."

"Wait, I'm not done here." Clarke turned to Bellamy with a pointed look. "I'm here for you."

"Clarke, what are you doing?" I muttered to her, thoroughly confused. She wasn't Bellamy's biggest fan, so why did she want him to come?

The frustrating blonde ignored me. "I hear you have a gun." Bellamy glanced around before lifting up the bottom of his shirt, showing her the gun. "Good. Follow me." Clarke ordered as she began to walk off.

"And why would I do that?" Bellamy asked.

Clarke turned around to face him. "Because you want them to follow you," She nodded her head in the direction of the rest of the delinquents, "and right now, they're thinking only one of us is scared." Bellamy didn't move an inch, clearly not buying her reason. A smirk appeared on Clarke's lips. She glanced at me, making me raise a suspicious brow at her, wondering where she's going with this.

"What are you think?" I asked her, narrowing my eyes suspiciously at my somewhat devious friend.

She ignored me, settling her blue gaze back on Bellamy. "Fine, then you'll do it for her." She jerked her head in my direction. "To keep her safe."

Bellamy's eyes fell on me, making shift around uncomfortable. I kept my eyes trained on Clarke, shaking my head at her. As if that little trick of hers will actually work. "Murphy, come with me. Atom, my sister doesn't leave this camp. Is that clear?" Bellamy clarified. The two nodded. Wait, what? Clarke snorted quietly, walking off with Wells in tow.

"I don't need a babysitter." Octavia snapped.

Bellamy ignored her and turned to Atom. "Anybody touches her, they answer to me." He's actually coming… Shaking myself out of my reverie, I ran after Clarke, not really wanting to get into another argument with Bellamy at the moment.

* * *

"How did you know that would make him come?" I answered - well, more like demanded - as soon as I reached her.

Clarke shrugged. "Simple; you and Octavia are his biggest weaknesses."

I frowned at my manipulative friend, shaking my head at her once more. "You're devious." I suddenly became very aware of the fact that Bellamy and Murphy were right behind us. With a gun. Of course, Bellamy's not the one I'm worried about; it's Murphy. If he gets ahold of that gun, there'll be trouble.

"Those guys aren't just bullies, Clarke. They're dangerous criminals." Wells mumbled quietly to Clarke.

"I'm counting on it."

"Where's Finn?" I asked curiously. He hasn't left Clarke's side since we got down here.

Clarke frowned deeply. "He's being a coward."

* * *

We had all been walking for a while. Clarke, Wells and I walked one side, while Bellamy and Murphy walked parallel to us with a line of trees dividing us. Bellamy called out to us. "Hey, hold up. What's the rush? You don't survive a spear through the heart." My eyes widened as I noticed how he was casually waving his gun around. Idiot.

"Put the gun away, Bellamy." Wells demanded.

Murphy was quick to defend his master, just like a good little dog. He shoved Wells away from Bellamy. "Why don't you do something about it, huh?"

I slapped his hand away from my friend. "Would you quit going after him?" I snapped. Murphy just smirked at me. I was seriously close to wiping that look off of his face.

Clarke sharply turned to face them, stomping over to Bellamy, very pissed off. Trust me, no one likes a pissed off Clarke. "Jasper screamed when they moved him. If the spear struck his heart, he'd have died instantly. It doesn't mean we have time to waste." She backed away, but was stopped by Bellamy grabbing her wrist, looking down at the silver wristband that was settled on it.

"As soon as you take this wristband off, we can go." He negotiated with a smirk.

I sighed and pulled his hand off of her wrist. "Will you just give up on the whole wristband thing? It's getting old." The bastard ignored me.

"The only way the Ark is gonna think I'm dead is if I'm dead. Got it?" Clarke spat, getting up in his face.

Bellamy chuckled and stepped closer to her, causing her to step back. "You're brave, I'll give you that, Sunshine."

A voice prevented Clarke from talking. "Hey, why don't you both just back off?" Finn said to Bellamy and Murphy. I grinned, relieved that he was here. "You call this a rescue party? Got to split up, cover more ground. Clarke, Elena, come with me."

Clarke walked over to him with a smile, while I went to follow her, but Bellamy stuck his arm out to prevent me from doing so. "You're coming with me."

"But-" I started.

Bellamy cut me off with a warning glance. "The only reason I'm here is to protect you. I can't do that if you wander off, so you're not leaving my side."

I rolled my eyes. "We both know that that isn't the reason you came." I glanced at Clarke's wristband to prove my point.

He shook his head at me and took my chin between his finger and thumb, forcing me to look at him. Locking his eyes onto mine, he lowered his face to mine and repeated himself in an even deeper than usual voice. "You're not leaving my sight."

Gritting my teeth together, I pulled my face from his grip and stomped over to Wells with a very undignified "UGH!". What made it worse was the amused chuckle that came from behind me.

* * *

Wells was looking over at Clarke and Finn, clearly jealous. I patted his shoulder knowingly.

"Guess we got more in common than meets the eye, huh?" Bellamy said from his place behind us. Murphy marched ahead of us.

Wells glared back at him. "We have nothing in common."

"No? Both came down here to protect someone we love." This made me smile slightly. I had always admired the way Bellamy would do absolutely anything for Octavia. "Your secret's safe with me." Bellamy grinned at my friend. Not really wanting to hear anymore of the conversation, I walked on to catch up with Murphy. Got to keep an eye on a punk like that.

* * *

I was no longer in hearing range of the conversation when I caught up with Murphy.

"So, why's Bellamy so protective over you, Princess?" He asked, looking over at me.

I scoffed at the nickname. "Don't call me that."

"You let Bellamy call you that."

"Yeah, because I actually like Bellamy." I quipped.

He rolled his eyes at me. "Whatever. So what's the deal with you two?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Why is he so protective over you?"

"He's my friend. Something that I'm sure you know _nothing_ about." I sassed him.

Murphy snickered. "You're just pissed that I nearly took down your precious Chancellor." That's it.

I turned on my heel and grabbed his collar. "Key word: _nearly_. If I remember rightly, he kicked your ass. And I swear to God, if you don't stop going after him, _I'll _be the one kicking your ass, you got that?"

"Everything okay here?" A deep voice asked. I turned my head to find Bellamy and Wells looking at us, slightly shocked.

I pushed Murphy back. "Fine." I answered and carried on walking. I heard footsteps jog up to me.

"You should be more careful around Murphy, Princess. He could hurt you." Bellamy warned me quietly, falling into step with me.

I sighed, frustrated. "Get off my case, Bellamy." I snapped.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer to him. "Listen, Sweetheart, you can be pissed off with me all you want, it won't stop me from protecting you."

I looked up at him. "Why do you care so much?" I asked.

Bellamy looked like he was growing more and more annoyed. "Isn't it obvious? I'm-"

"Guys, Jasper's this way!" Clarke informed us, appearing out of nowhere, waving us over to her.

I noticed that her clothes were dripping wet and forgot all about my dispute with Bellamy. "Why are your clothes wet?"

"We found a safe river and Finn pulled me in." She explained quickly as we all followed her.

* * *

After crossing the river, we continued to follow Finn, our best tracker.

"Hey, how do we know this is the right way?" Murphy whined.

Bellamy scoffed and rolled his eyes. "We don't. Spacewalker thinks he's a tracker." He said, rather snidely.

"It's called cutting sign. Fourth-year earth skills. He's good." Wells muttered.

"You want to keep it down or should I paint a target on your backs?" Finn said without turning around. He stopped and looked at a thin branch. He walked over to it, fingering it for a moment before dropping down to examine the ground beneath it. There were drops of blood on the floor. Clarke leaned forward to look closer and shared a look with Finn.

"See? You're invisible." Bellamy murmured to Wells. What's that all about?

"At least I'm not being purposefully ignored." Wells stated. Boys are weird. And confusing. A loud moan sounded in the distance.

"What the hell was that?" Murphy questioned, sounding scared.

"Now would be a good time to take out that gun." Clarke noted, getting up.

* * *

We pushed our way through some bushes and came into a clearing with a larch tree in the middle. The source of the sound was in the tree. It was Jasper.

"Jasper. Oh my god." Clarke breathed out. Jasper was tied up in the tree, two ropes were around his waist and legs and one held his hands above him. His shirt was missing and there were cuts and blood all over his body. I noticed a small green thing on the right side of his chest. It looked like a poultice.

Clarke started walking forward. "Clarke, be careful." Finn warned, trying to grab her.

We all followed behind her. "Jasper?" She called out.

Bellamy walked up behind her. "What the hell is this?" Suddenly, the ground underneath Clarke disappeared as she fell into a pit. Luckily, Bellamy caught her wrist.

"Clarke! Get her up! Pull her up! Pull her up!" Wells shouted. Bellamy didn't move. Is he seriously hesitating?

"Get her! Pull her up!" Finn yelled, skidding along the ground as he grabbed Bellamy's shoulders and pulled him back with the help of Murphy and Wells. Finn pulled Clarke into his arms to help her get up on her feet.

As soon as she was standing, I pulled her into my arms and held onto her tightly. "You okay?"

She nodded into my shoulder, wrapping her arms around my waist. "Yeah." She panted. She then pulled away and we looked up at Jasper. "We need to get him down." I looked down at the pit and saw that it was filled with spears that would have pierced Clarke if she had fallen onto them. I shivered at the thought. I'd definitely be having words with Bellamy about this.

"I'll climb up there and cut the vines." Finn offered.

Wells nodded in agreement. "Yeah, yeah, I'm with you."

Finn turned to Wells and shook his head. "No. Stay with the girls." He glanced at Bellamy. "And watch him." Bellamy glared back at him. "You." Finn looked at Murphy, "let's go." Murphy looked to Bellamy for permission, who nodded in return.

"Is that a poultice on his wound?" Clarke asked, looking up at Jasper.

"I think so." I answered.

Wells and Bellamy looked at us, confused. "Medicine? Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?" Wells wandered.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch likes its dinner to be breathing." Bellamy replies.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch is us." Finn corrected. We all looked around nervously. I took a deep breath and let it out shakily.

* * *

Finn and Murphy had climbed up the tree and were now cutting the vines away from Jasper.

"Be careful." Clarke called up to them. We heard a growl.

Murphy's head whipped round in the direction of the growl. "What the hell was that?" Hey, why is he so panicked? He's the one safely up in a tree!

"Grounders?" Bellamy suggested, taking a step closer to me. The sound of twigs snapping and a low snarl caught our attention. We all turned our heads to the sound and saw a big, black creature stalking towards us. I think it's called a panther. I'm pretty sure I recall reading about it somewhere. It suddenly pounced and ran towards us very quickly.

"Bellamy, gun!" Clarke screamed as Bellamy desperately patted himself down, trying to find his gun. When he couldn't find it, he quickly grabbed me and pulled me into his chest, turning us around so that his back was towards the panther. My hands grabbed fistfuls of his shirt as I felt one of his hands grip my waist and the other bury itself in my hair. A gunshot rang out, followed by two more. I looked around and saw that Wells had placed himself in front of Clarke, holding the gun in his hand. The panther faltered and growled, diving into the bushes by mine and Bellamy's feet.

"Oh my god!" I cried as Bellamy pushed me behind him.

"It's gonna be okay, you're gonna be fine." He tried to calm me, frantically looking for the panther at the same time. The bushes moved constantly as the panther darted around them, hissing and snarling. It was still for a moment and we had lost track of it, until it pounced out of the bushes, towards Bellamy.

"Bellamy!" I shrieked. One last shot rang out as Wells shot the beast in the head, making it drop to the floor in front of Bellamy, who was panting from the adrenaline rush.

Bellamy turned to me just as I threw myself into his arms, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck. He hugged me back tightly as he pulled one hand through my hair. "Now she sees you." I heard him say, presumably to Wells.

I pulled back and looked up at him. I'm pretty sure my face was completely devoid of colour. "It almost got you."

Bellamy took my face in his hand and pressed his forehead against mine. "But it didn't, I'm okay. We both are." He whispered soothingly to me. I nodded.

* * *

Bellamy and Murphy carried the panther back as Finn and I carried Jasper back.

"They're back!" Someone yelled as we walked into camp.

"Over there." Someone else shouted.

Monty walked over to us. "Is he…" He trailed off, referring to Jasper.

"He's alive." Clarke replied.

"We're going to need boiled water and strips of cloth for bandages." I ordered as Monty nodded and went to get what we needed. Bellamy and Murphy put the panther down and uncovered it. Everyone cheered when they saw it.

"Who's hungry?!" Bellamy yelled.

"Yeah!"

"Woo!"

"Go Bellamy! Woo!" Everyone yelled out. I saw Octavia walk over to her brother, giving him a hug and beaming up at him like he was a hero. He didn't even kill the panther. I sighed and shook my head. Credit would't be given where it was due and that kinda pissed me off even more. Bellamy may have protected me, but I was still angry with him and I hope he knows that.

* * *

We lied Jasper down on a makeshift bed and Clarke and I were now cleaning the various wounds on him. Finn came in and crouched down by Clarke.

I put the cloth I was holding down and stood up. "I'll give you two a minute." I smiled down at the two of them before walking out. The sight I was met with when I got outside, however, wiped the smile straight off of my face. Bellamy and his followers were making kids take their wristbands off for food. I stalked over to Bellamy and shoved his shoulder. "What the hell are you doing now?"

He looked down at me and sighed wearily. "Don't start, Princess."

"What you're doing is wrong!"

The sound of Murphy's voice interrupted our conversation. "Whoa, whoa. Wait, wait, wait. What, you think you play by different rules?" He smirked at Finn, who had grabbed two pieces of meat.

Finn shrugged. "I thought there were no rules." And with that, he walked over to a smirking Clarke and handed her the meat. The two went to find somewhere to sit. One guy saw what Finn did and went to follow his lead, but Bellamy ran over to him and pushed his hand away from the meat before punching him.

"Bellamy!" I exclaimed. I grabbed his arm and forced him to face me. "What is going on with you? Whoever _this_ is, isn't you. Stop acting like such a dick." I hissed. He looked at me, but remained silent, which I took as my cue to leave.

* * *

Most people had taken off their wristbands for food by now and were happily munching away. I was leaning against a tree by myself, trying to ignore the hunger I felt. A piece of meat suddenly appeared in front of me. "I'm not taking my wristband off." I stated, looking up at the person. It was exactly who I thought it was; Bellamy.

"You don't have to, but you need to eat." He replied. I accepted the meat and took a small bite. It tasted odd, but it would do for now. Bellamy smiled at me and bent down to sit with me.

"Don't." I said.

He frowned at me. "Why not?"

"Just because you're giving me this without making me take my wristband off, doesn't mean you're forgiven."

"Look, I'm sorry I punched that kid I just-"

I glared at him. "That is not what this is about, Bellamy!"

"Then enlighten me, what have I done now?" He asked, exasperatedly.

"You hesitated."

"What?"

"When Clarke fell, you hesitated to pull her up." I accused him. I stood up, looking up at him steadily. "You wouldn't have hesitated if it were me who-"

"Of course I wouldn't have hesitated if it were you, because you actually mean something to me, Elena, you mean everything to me!"

My heart beat picked up at his comment, but I swiftly ignored it. I'm his best friend, of course he'd say something like that. "Was it because she wouldn't take her wristband off? Why is that so important to you, Bellamy? Why don't you want the ark to follow us down? What are you so afraid of?" I fired one question after another.

Bellamy's gaze on me faltered. "Please, Elena," he took my hands in his own, "please don't ask me anymore questions. The less you know the better." He pleaded quietly.

"What did you do, Bell?" I asked, my gaze softening at the vulnerable look on his face.

"Just know that I'm doing is what's best for you and Octavia."

My face hardened again as I shook my head slightly. Fine, if he wasn't going to trust me, I won't trust him. "Not good enough." I answered angrily, yanking my hands out of his grip and storming off.


	3. Earth Kills

**Elena POV**

I peered over Clarke's shoulder as she timed Jasper's pulse with her father's watch. I stayed with Clarke and Monty in the drop ship all night to watch over Jasper and avoid Bellamy, who had been trying to talk to me after our little…dispute. I sighed sadly as Jasper let out another loud, pained moan. I wish there was more we could do.

"His pulse is going crazy." Clarke told me, looking up at me with a frown. Jasper groaned.

"Shut that kid up!"

"Quiet!" I heard some of the others shout.

Clarke stroked Jasper's cheek and leaned over him slightly. "Don't listen to them. You're gonna make it through this, okay? Promise."

"Can he just die already?" Someone else called out. The heartbroken look on Monty's face was all it took for me to see red and retaliate. Clarke and Monty looked at me as I stood to my full height and walked over to the hatch. "I've got this." I muttered to them. Crouched down by the hatch, I leaned forward so the others could hear me clearly. "How about I come down there and shove a spear through your chest, see how you like it?" I yelled angrily. I got no answer. "Yeah, I thought as much." I glanced back at Monty, who gave me a grateful smile.

"Elena, can you get me some clean water, please?" Clarke asked.

I nodded. "Sure, I'll be back soon." I said before climbing down the ladder. After hopping off the last step, I looked around at the kids who had chosen to sleep in the drop ship, glaring the entire time. "I don't know who was shouting a second ago, but how about you learn some respect and keep your damn mouths shut."

* * *

I sauntered out of the drop ship, inhaling the fresh air. The fire was still alight as a few people milled about the camp. I briefly glanced around for any signs of Bellamy and thankfully there were none. He was probably in his tent with yet another girl. A loud shriek caught my attention and I jogged around camp to find the source. Behind a tree, a young girl of about the age of 12/13 was thrashing around in her sleep. Her blonde hair was braided and she wore a thin jacket that clearly wasn't doing a good job of keeping her warm. She kept screaming. I gently shook her shoulder, causing her to jump awake.

"Hey, shh. You're okay, it was just a nightmare." I cooed as she sat up, dazed and disorientated with tears in her eyes. "I'm Elena, what's your name?" I asked, trying to distract her from the nightmare long enough to calm her down.

"I'm Charlotte." She answered quietly.

"Do you want to talk about your nightmare?" I took a seat beside her and wrapped an arm around her, trying to warm her up.

She leaned into me. "It's my parents. They were floated and they-" She sobbed. I rubbed soothing circles on her back. "I see it in my dreams and I just…"

I cut her off, wiping her tears away with my thumb. "I get it, you know. My mom was floated as well. So, how did you end up in the skybox?"

Charlotte looked up at me and hesitantly rested her head on my shoulder. "Well, we were taking my parents' things to the redistribution centre and I kind of lost it. They said I assaulted a guard." She admitted sheepishly.

I gave her a light smile. "I can't say I blame you." She wiped away her tears. "Look kiddo, we can't live in the past, we have to keep looking forward. So, maybe, we need to let go of whatever happened up in the Ark, all the pain, hurt and anger, and treat us coming to the ground as our future; our chance to live. Okay?" I grinned and playfully tapped her on the nose.

She giggled slightly. "Can we really do that?"

My smile faltered a little. My words had been full of confidence, doesn't mean I really mean them. Charlotte doesn't need to know that though. "We can certainly try." Charlotte nodded in agreement. "Now, get some rest." I ordered. She cuddled into me as I leaned us back against the tree.

* * *

I woke up to Jasper's pained groans. It was morning and Charlotte had rolled onto her side beside me, luckily still peacefully sleeping. I let out a small groan of my own as I remembered the clean water I promised Clarke. Damn. She had probably got some herself by now, but I should search for some anyway. Quietly getting up, careful not to wake Charlotte, I set off to get some water. The sound of metal hitting something caught my attention. As I got closer to the source of the noise, I saw Murphy and Bellamy practicing their aim or something. I don't know, I don't care. I was about to turn back when Murphy spoke up.

"That damn kid, always messing with my head." He whined.

"He's not gonna last much longer. Better think of a new excuse." Bellamy replied. He threw his axe at the tree, where it remained. Show off. "That's how it's done."

I stepped forward, making myself known. "_Jasper_," I stressed, emphasising the fact that 'that kid' has a name, "isn't going to die. Clarke and I will make sure of that."

Bellamy had turned to me the moment he heard my voice and was about to say something before being interrupted by blue eyes. I mean, Atom. He walked up to Bellamy, with the rest of Bellamy's little crew behind him. "We searched a half-mile all directions. No sign of Trina or Pascal."

"Wait, they're missing?" I asked, worry laced in my voice, appearing at Bellamy's side. Atom nodded at me.

"Visit your special tree when you were out there?" Murphy snickered.

I frowned, confused. I noticed Atom shifting around uncomfortably. I turned to Bellamy. "What is he talking about?"

Bellamy rolled his eyes at Murphy. "Atom took his punishment. Let it go." Punishment?

"Could be grounders." Atom suggested. Does anybody listen to me?

Murphy smirked, pacing around the area. "Yeah, or they could be in pound town." He glanced at Atom, who was looking at Octavia as she threw dirty water into a bush, smiling at Atom. Am I missing something here? Bellamy stared at the two as he pulled his axe out of the tree, almost as if he were giving Atom a warning. "Lot of that going around recently." Murphy finished. I scoffed at him. "Problem, Princess?"

"Stop calling me that!" I snapped. "And yeah, actually, I have a problem with you. You're a dick."

Bellamy, Atom and the others chuckled while Murphy glared at me, getting up in my face. "You wanna say that again, you little bi-"

"Don't finish that sentence." Bellamy warned, stepping in front of me and pushing Murphy back slightly. Murphy hesitated, but backed down. I peeked around Bellamy and sent Murphy a smug smile. He glared at me angrily. Elena 1, Murphy 0. Jasper's moan rang out across camp again.

"Look, Bellamy, people are scared, and that dying kid," Atom pointed to the drop ship, "is not helping the morale around here."

"Okay, first of all, Jasper. Is. Not. Dying." I emphasised each and every syllable, making it very clear to them. "Second of all, maybe, instead of standing around here talking about Jasper, we should be out searching for more food." I glanced up at Bellamy as he turned to face me. "We're running low."

He nodded. "She's right. Morale will go up when I find them more food."

"And what do we say when they ask about Trina and Pascal?" One kid asked, frowning.

"For now? Nothing. It's possible they're just lost."

"When did they go missing?" I inquired.

"Last night." Atom answered.

"Bell's right, they probably just lost their way in the dark. I'm sure they'll find their way soon." I assured the guy who was worried. He seemed to calm down a bit.

"We'll keep an eye out for them when we go hunting later." Bellamy added.

"Okay, well, good luck with hunting. Be careful." I said to all of them before walking off.

* * *

I arrived back at the drop ship with clean water in hand. Clarke was leaning over Jasper, cleaning and inspecting his wounds. "Hey, I come bearing clean water." I announced, kneeling down beside the blonde and placing the bowl between us.

Clarke looked up at me. "Where'd you get to last night?"

"I was looking after Charlotte, she had a nightmare. Sorry I didn't come back…I kinda fell asleep." I smiled sheepishly.

She smiled and shook her head. "It's okay, you deserved the rest. I was looking at the spear wound and it seems that the grounders didn't just give Jasper medicine, they cauterised the wound. Saved his life."

"Saved his life so they could string him up for live bait. Garden of Eden this ain't." Finn commented, walking over.

"You can say that again." I murmured, running a hand through Jasper's hair.

"This is infected. He could be septic." Clarke muttered to me. She looked up at Monty who was fiddling with a wristband by a small lamp, which let off a poor amount of light. "Any progress on using the wristbands to contact the Ark?" But Monty didn't answer, he was too busy staring at Jasper with worry etched onto his face.

"Hey, Monty?" I tried getting his attention, but kept my voice calm and soothing.

He jolted slightly and snapped his eyes to me. "Uh, that would be a firm no."

Clarke sighed nervously and I could tell she was beginning to panic as she looked back at Jasper. "My mother would know what to do."

I put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's going to be okay. We'll help him."

Her lips trembled slightly as she looked at me for a long minute before nodding. "Right."

Wells appeared at the hatch. He came over to us, glancing down at Jasper. "How's he doing?"

"How does it look like he's doing, Wells?" Clarke hissed.

"Hey, Clarke, back off a little. Now is not the time." I chided. She frowned at me, but saw my point and relaxed a little. "Okay, we need to get rid of the infected flesh."

"Okay, you want to help? Hold him down." Clarke ordered Wells. I handed her the knife that rested by my side so she could heat it up in the fire next to her. I moved over to the other side of Jasper, so I could hold down his torso while trying to comfort him.

Monty shifted around uncomfortably. "I'm not gonna like this, am I?"

I shook my head at him. "No, but we need you to help us hold him still." I told him gently. He gulped and nodded understandingly.

Once Wells, Monty, Finn and I had hold of Jasper, Clarke brought the knife out of the fire and looked at all of us. "You ready?" We all nodded. "Okay." She began to cut away the infected skin, which made Jasper groan louder than ever before.

I stroked the top of his head as I held his torso down. "It's going to be okay." I whispered to him.

At that moment, Octavia came clambering up the ladder and skidding over to us. "Stop it! You're killing him." She shrieked, crouching down next to me.

"They're trying to save his life." Finn corrected her.

"They can't." A voice declared. I let out a small growl as I saw Bellamy walk over to us.

Wells stood up and got in front of Bellamy. "Back off."

Clarke rolled her eyes and focused on Jasper. "We didn't drag him through miles of woods just to let him die."

Bellamy shrugged. "Kid's a goner. If you can't see that, you're deluded. He's making people crazy."

That caused Clarke to snap. "Sorry if Jasper's an inconvenience to you, but this isn't the Ark. Down here, every life matters."

Bellamy glared at her. "Take a look at him. He's a lost cause."

Glancing at Octavia, Clarke decided to talk to her instead of Bellamy. "Octavia, Elena and I have spent our whole lives watching our mothers heal people. If we say there's hope, there's hope." Octavia looked to me for re-assurance, which I gave her with a firm nod.

I stood up and walked over to Bellamy, pushing my hand onto his stomach to get him to move back slightly. "You should leave." I said firmly, looking him straight in the eyes.

He returned my heated gaze and shook his head. "This isn't about hope, it's about guts." His words were mainly directed at Clarke, but his eyes never left me. "You don't have the guts to make the hard choices. I do. He's been like this for three days. If he's not better by tomorrow, I'll kill him myself." He turned to leave, but paused and turned back to Octavia. "Octavia, let's go." Well, at least he isn't trying to control me anymore.

"I'm staying here." Was his answer. Bellamy shook his head again and left.

I sighed and stared after him before quickly making my mind up. "Hey, call me if you need me, okay? I'll be back soon." Clarke nodded and I climbed down the ladder, ready to give that moron a piece of my mind.

* * *

That changed, however, when I saw Atom sat down, sharpening a knife. "Hey, Blue. What's with you and Octavia? And what did Bellamy do to you?" I asked, walking over to him and taking a seat beside him.

"Blue?" He asked with a smirk.

"Well- it's just- your eyes are…never mind. Just tell me what I want to know." I stuttered before getting ahold of myself.

Atom cleared his throat before talking. "I don't think I should be talking to you."

I frowned. "Why not?"

"Bellamy's made it very clear to everyone that no one is allowed to mess with you or his sister."

I rolled my eyes so violently that I was afraid I'd break them. "Bellamy doesn't own me, I can do whatever the hell I want, whenever the hell I want. That is his motto, right?" I smirked. "Besides, I need to make some new friends around here and I've decided that you are going to be the first. We're going to have each other's backs from now on, which means I'll protect you from the big, bad Bellamy." I teased.

Atom grinned at me, but soon frowned again. "Yeah, well, you wouldn't be his biggest fan if he tied you up to a tree and left you there for the night."

The smile quickly fell from my face. "He did what?" I asked with a dangerous tone. I began to get up, ready to tear Bellamy apart. Is this how he planned to keep everyone in line? By tormenting them.

Atom grabbed my hand and pulled me back down. "Easy there, firecracker, you'll just make it worse. How about we start having each other's backs now?" He asked with a chuckle.

I pouted, but gave in. "Fine. So, you and Octavia? I assume there's something going on there because you were one of Bellamy's favourites."

Atom sighed. "There was, but now there isn't."

"He's just-"

"Protective, I gathered."

I nodded. "Yeah."

"So, what about you and him?"

"There is no me and him. There's just me," I paused, "And him. Did you understand that? Because it made sense in my head."

Atom chuckled. "Sure, there's absolutely _nothing_ going on between you."

"There isn't!" I protested. "We're just friends."

"If you say so."

I huffed and turned away, pouting like a 5 year old. "Oh, go back to sharpening your knife. I see I've made an error in my choice of friends." Atom merely laughed and sharpened his knife once again.

* * *

A little later, I was sat with Clarke, examining the poultice from Jasper's wound. "You okay? You've been kind of moody." I mentioned, grabbing the weird red substance.

Before she could answer, Finn approached us. "You're mad." He stated, looking at Clarke. I frowned and glanced back at the blond.

She looked down, avoiding our gazes. "I'm not mad. You want to think Jasper's a lost cause, go ahead. You're wrong."

My eyes widened. "You agree with Bellamy?" I asked, standing up and hitting Finn's chest.

Finn looked down at me and caught my wrist. "Look, I hope I'm wrong."

"You are wrong." I reiterated.

Clarke stood up with a sigh and grabbed the red stuff from my hand. "Whatever this stuff is, it has to have had antibiotic properties." She informed Finn, holding it up.

"Let me take a look." Wells said, coming over to us. "Before you refuse my help, remember who aced botany in Earth Skills." Clarke rolled her eyes, not looking at him, but then realised she needed his help.

"The grounders used it as a poultice." She turned to Finn. "But, I'm thinking a tea might be even more effective if we can figure out what it is."

"I know what it is. Seaweed. Look… no root structure."

Clarke nodded and looked at Finn again, ignoring Wells. "Right. Well, then there must be a water source nearby." She was being kind of childish. I felt bad for Wells, poor kid has done nothing wrong.

Wells answered again. "Yeah, it would have to have a slow current, lots of rocks. The water would probably be more red than green."

Finn grinned. "I know just the place."

Clarke began to walk away. "All right. Let's go. Elena, stay here in case Octavia needs you to help with Jasper."

"Okay."

"Hey. I know what this stuff looks like. Do you?" Wells called out as they walked away. Finn and Clarke paused, knowing they would need him.

I patted Wells' shoulder. "Good luck, stay safe." He nodded and walked over to them.

* * *

I sighed, walking around camp trying to find something to do. Jasper's moans were ringing out and I noticed many looked uncomfortable. Okay, maybe Bellamy, Atom and Finn have a point, but that doesn't mean we can just let Jasper go without a fight. No way. I heard a small whimper coming from my left and saw Charlotte clutching her hands to her ears. "Hey, Charlotte. It's okay, little one." I cooed, wrapping my arms around her, rocking her from side to side. I needed to get her away from camp. As long as we stayed away from the river, we'd be fine…I hope. I double checked that the knife that Atom gave me earlier was still in my boot and began to usher Charlotte out of camp.

She grabbed my hand and clutched it tightly. "Is it okay to be out here?"

"We'll stay relatively close to camp, it'll be fine." She nodded and walked ahead a bit, eager to explore. She stepped on a twig, which made a loud noise and, before we knew it, an axe landed in the tree directly in front of Charlotte. "Oh my god, Charlotte!" I screamed, running over to her and placing her behind me, frantically glancing around to find the grounder when a very familiar voice startled me.

"And just what the hell do you think you're doing out of camp?" Bellamy asked, his glare set on me as he marched up to the tree and grabbed his axe. Atom trailed behind him, shaking his head at me. Bellamy looked at Charlotte when I failed to answer. "I almost killed you. Why aren't you back at camp?"

Charlotte stood by my side, clutching my hand. She began to stutter nervously. "W-w-well, what with that guy who was dying-"

"He's not dying." I said, lightly squeezing her hand.

She looked at me and nodded. "I just… I couldn't listen anymore." She admitted.

Bellamy's eyes turned to me. "So, you thought it would be best to take her away from camp into a place filled with danger?"

"We were going to stay away from the river. I wanted to help her, Bellamy." I replied heatedly, stepping closer to him. "Stop trying to control me."

"I'm trying to protect you."

"Well, maybe that's the problem!" I countered, the volume of my voice raised a little. "I feel like you're suffocating me!" Bellamy looked taken aback and I knew I had hurt him. I quickly looked away and stood back guiltily.

Atom looked between the two of us and tried to play the peacemaker. "Look, there's grounders out here." He reminded me. He looked at Charlotte. "It's too dangerous for a little girl."

"I'm not little." Charlotte quickly replied.

Bellamy grinned slightly. "Okay, then…" He stepped around me and pulled out a knife. "But you can't hunt without a weapon." He handed it to Charlotte. Is he insane? "Ever killed something before?" Charlotte shook her head. "Who knows? Maybe you're good at it." With that, Atom took off with Charlotte following him.

I grabbed Bellamy's arm and stopped him from leaving. "She's a child."

"A child who needs to learn how to protect herself. It's dangerous down here and you know that." He responded before pulling his arm away and stalking off. "C'mon, Sweetheart. Don't fall behind." He called out. I sighed and chased after him.

* * *

A while later, the sound of a horn filled the air. "What was that?" Atom asked, looking around.

Bellamy grabbed my hand and pulled my into his side. "Grounders?"

"Probably." I answered. I looked up and saw birds flying quickly, seemingly trying to escape something. I gulped nervously and looked up at Bellamy, eyes probably filled with fear. "I think it's a warning."

Bellamy looked at where I was looking. We looked behind us and saw an odd yellow/green coloured fog, which did not look fun. Bellamy shouted out to the others. "Everybody run. C'mon, there are caves this way." We all began to run quickly, following Bellamy who's hand tightly clasped my own.

I glanced back and saw Charlotte falling behind us slightly. I reached out for her and she grabbed my hand. I noticed that we had been split up from the rest of the group, bar Atom, who was still running with us. I focused back ahead of me and saw a small hill which lead to a cave. Bellamy let go of me, running ahead to get up and help us in. He lifted Charlotte up and turned back to me. I jumped into his arms, the strange fog narrowly missing me and making the two of us cough until he dragged me inside. "That was too close." I murmured into his chest.

"You're okay, you're safe." He murmured, clutching my waist and the back of my head tightly, placing several kisses on my temple.

"Bellamy! Elena!" A voice called.

"Atom!" I gasped, trying to go back out.

Bellamy pulled me back. "Are you crazy? You'll get yourself hurt! You aren't going back out there."

"But, Atom-"

"He'll be fine." He didn't sound too sure about that.

"We said we'd look out for each other." I told him quietly.

* * *

Charlotte was lying down, asleep, while Bellamy and I sat opposite each other. "How long are we going to be stuck in here?" I asked, making sure I didn't wake Charlotte up.

"I don't know, but we aren't leaving until that fog clears up." Bellamy replied. He was still very much on edge with me. After we were out of immediate danger, he put plenty of distance between us and didn't speak to me. Not that I'm surprised; I saw the look of hurt that flashed through his eyes earlier.

Sighing, I pulled my knees up to my chest and buried my face in them. "You're mad." I stated, keeping my voice low so I didn't wake Charlotte.

"I'm not mad." He replied, though he still refused to look at me.

Holding back a groan, I threw my head back slightly, minding the wall behind me, and rolled my eyes briefly. "Fine, then you're hurt." Bellamy didn't have the chance to answer. A scream suddenly left Charlotte's lips and frightened me. Bellamy and I quickly scrambled up and knelt down in front of her.

I shook her gently, just like before. "Charlotte, wake up, it's okay."

She woke up panting with tears in her eyes as she glanced between the two of us. "I'm sorry."

"Does it happen often?" Bellamy asked, receiving a sigh as his answer. "What are you scared of?" Charlotte hesitated to answer, looking at me. I nodded slightly, telling her it was okay to trust him when he spoke up again. "You know what? It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is what you do about it." He patted her leg.

This confused Charlotte. Hell, it confused me. "But…I'm asleep."

"Fears are fears. Slay your demons when you're awake, they won't be there to get you when you sleep." He explained, smiling slightly at the confused looks on our faces.

"Yeah, but…how?"

Bellamy shook his head. "You can't afford to be weak. Down here, weakness is death, fear is death." They looked at each other for a moment. "Let me see that knife I gave you." Charlotte handed him the knife and he held it in front of her, smiling gently at her. "Now, when you feel afraid, you hold on tight to that knife and you say, 'screw you. I'm not afraid.'" He passed it back to her.

Charlotte took it and stared at it. "Screw you. I'm not afraid." She said uncertainly.

"Louder." I grinned. Bellamy nodded in agreement.

She smiled, clutching the knife even tighter. "Screw you. I'm not afraid." She stated, a lot more firmer this time.

Bellamy beamed at her and patted her leg again. "Slay your demons, kid. Then you'll be able to sleep."

* * *

When Charlotte eventually fell asleep again, I got up from her side, where I had been playing with her hair to coax her to sleep and led down beside Bellamy, who turned onto his side to face me. "That was the Bellamy I remember." I whispered quietly. He said nothing, just kept looking at me, his eyes searching my face. I licked my lips and bit down on my bottom one, trying to figure out what to say. "I'm sorry for what I said. You're not suffocating me at all. I get that you want to protect me and I love you for that, but you need to let me make my own choices; my own mistakes. I have to learn how to take care of myself, just like Charlotte has to, because you were right, Bell, it is dangerous down here and, no matter how much you want to, you won't always be there to protect me. You get that, right?"

Bellamy sighed and I felt his warm breath hit my face due to our closeness. "I do, Princess, it's just…I don't want to lose you."

Okay, that makes me feel incredibly guilty. I exhaled and shuffled close to him, reaching up and placing a kiss to his jaw. "You're not going to lose me, Bell."

"Promise?" He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close so that I was practically lying on top of him.

"Promise." I peered down at him, lifting a hand to play with his curls. "You know you can trust me with anything, don't you?"

His grip on my waist tightened. "I know, but-"

Clearly, he wasn't ready to share what was on his mind yet, so I decided to let it slide for now. "It's okay." He looked surprised. "I'll try to refrain from asking anymore questions until you're ready to talk, okay?" I smiled down at him, placing my hand on his cheek and nuzzling my nose against his affectionately. "We're in this together, until the very end. I promise." I let myself fall back onto the floor, trying to make myself comfy by using Bellamy's arm as a pillow. His arms tighten around me as he buried his face into my neck, placing a small kiss on it. "Goodnight, Bellamy."

"Night, Princess."

* * *

I woke up when I felt a weight lift off of me and groaned, burying my face into my arm, desperately trying to get back to sleep. A deep chuckle came from above me as a hand moved my hair away from my face. I felt a slight pressure on my cheek and realised it was a pair of lips kissing me.

"Time to wake up, Princess." Bellamy said and I could almost hear the grin in his voice.

"No, thank you." I sighed, rolling onto my back and opening my eyes. Just as I thought, a grin was evident on his face.

"Too bad." He pinched my hip lightly, making me flinch away from his hand because I was ticklish there - something that he _knew_ already - and then pulled me into to a sitting position. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't relentless in his attack and stood up, giving me prime time to lay back down and resume my sleep. Well, that was until Bellamy dipped down and picked me up bridal-style, bringing a blush to my cheeks.

"Wha- put me down, Blake!"

He smirked at me. "Hmm, I'd rather not."

"Is it time to go?" A small voice asked from behind us. I peered over Bell's shoulder and saw Charlotte sleepily rubbing her eyes, standing up from her makeshift bed. When she saw Bellamy holding me, she giggled.

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Yep, uh huh, it most certainly is so if you'd just put me down, Bellamy, we'll be golden." Bellamy chuckled and put me down. "Thank you."

"C'mon you two, let's get going." Bellamy said. We all looked towards the cave entrance and solemnly remembered why we were in here in the first place. My eyes widened as I remembered Atom's cry for help and I darted towards the entrance. Bellamy quickly caught up to me and grabbed my waist, pulling me behind him. "Let me go first." He took a cautious step forward and looked around. "It's all clear. Anybody out here? Jones?" Bellamy called out.

"We're here!" Jones' voice replied.

Bellamy grabbed my hand and we walked over to meet the others with Charlotte following us closely. "Lost you in the stew. Where'd you go?" Bellamy inquired as we approached the others.

"Made it to a cave down there." Jones informed him. "The hell was that?"

I shook my head. "Never mind that, where's Atom?" Jones shrugged at me. My head whipped round to face Bellamy, who now had his jaw clenched. "Okay." I breathed out shakily, running my free hand through my hair. "W-We have to find him." Bellamy nodded at me, squeezing my hand.

* * *

We had all split up to look for Atom. I noticed how Bellamy made sure to stay near me, obviously knowing that I wasn't really in the right state of mind to fight off any danger. I heard an ear splitting scream come from the direction Charlotte had walked off in and quickly ran over with Bellamy. "Charlotte? What's wrong?" When we reached her, Bellamy placed a hand on her back and I crouched down to her height, placing my hands on her shoulders. She shakily pointed behind me. I heard small, strangled gasps for breath and saw Atom lying on the ground, covered in burns and blisters.

"Son of a bitch. Atom." I heard Bellamy curse. He ran over to him and kneeled beside him. I let go off Charlotte and ran over, kneeling the other side of Atom. As I got a closer view of him, I saw that his once pretty, clear blue eyes had become enlarged and turned into a dull grey colour.

"Kill me. Kill me. Kill...me." He gasped in pain. Bellamy stood up as the others appeared behind us.

Charlotte slowly walked over to us and handed Bellamy the knife he gave her. "Don't be afraid."

Bell took it and looked at the others. "Go back to camp." They started to leave. "Charlotte, you too." I'm glad he didn't make me leave. He bent back down and I felt his gaze on my face as I examined Atom. There's nothing I could do, it would be cruel to keep him alive. Tears gathered in my eyes as I looked up at Bellamy and shook my head sadly.

"Kill... me. Bell...a...my... pl...ea..se." Atom choked out. Bellamy's hand grasped the knife, but I could tell he couldn't bring himself to kill Atom.

I reached over and gently took the knife from him. I inhaled deeply and then exhaled. "It's going to be okay, Atom. I'm going to help you, okay?" I gave him a small, reassuring smile as he turned to look up at me. "Sweet dreams, Blue." I whispered, lining the knife up at the base of his throat.

"Thank…you, fire…cracker." Atom gave me a pained smile. Biting back a sob, I got ready to push the knife in when a large hand gripped my own. I looked up and was met with fear filled, deep brown eyes.

"We're in this together, until the very end." Bellamy repeated my words from last night. I nodded and together we pierced Atom's neck with the knife, killing him.

* * *

I was silent the entire way back. I had just killed my friend; the boy my best friend liked. Bellamy and Wells were carrying Atom's body, while Clarke and Finn stayed close to me. We arrived at camp and I heard people announcing our arrival.

"We've gotta get to Jasper. I'll need boiled water to make the medicine." Clarke told Finn as they left.

"Get Clarke whatever she needs." Bellamy instructed.

I felt Wells' gaze on my face, probably making sure that I won't break down right on the spot before turning to Bellamy. "I better go get this grave dug." I saw Octavia run out of the drop ship and say something to Clarke as the blonde tried to pull her back into the drop ship. Octavia pushed her away and walked over to us.

"Octavia, just stay there. Please, stay back." Bellamy pleaded, not wanting her to see Atom.

Octavia pushed against Bellamy. "Why?" She struggled against her brother. "Bell, stop." She got past him and walked over to the stretcher Atom's body was led on. Crouching down, she pulled the jacket down to reveal his body. "Atom." She breathed out as tears gathered in her eyes.

Bellamy gave her a sad look. "There was nothing I could do."

Octavia shook her head. "Don't." She spat at him as she re-covered Atom's body and got up to leave.

"O... O... please."

"Don't." She walked off. The look of pure hurt brought back my earlier tears and I ran off to find a quiet place to finally shed them. I ran out to the outskirts of the camp and leaned back against a tree, facing away from everyone. I slid down the tree until I was sat on the floor, pulled my knees up to my chest and let out a sob. One sob followed after another as I completely broke down. It was all my fault. I killed him. I said I'd have his back, he called out to me and I left him there to die. I covered my face up with my hands to muffle my sobs. I heard footsteps walk towards me and felt a presence in front of me. The person crouched down in front of me and pulled my hands away from my face. Bellamy's eyes stared back at me. "This is my fault. What have I done?" Sobs wracked my frame as I became more and more distraught. God, I _killed _someone. Atom's blood was on my hands.

Bellamy cupped my face in his hands and wiped his tears away with his thumbs. "No-no, Princess, it's not your fault."

"He called out to me, I said I'd look out for him." I sobbed.

"He called out for both of us, but us going out in that fog for him wouldn't have helped him, it just would've killed us. You made his death less painful, Elena. You _helped _him." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead. Once he pulled away, I got onto my knees and wrapped my arms as tightly as I could around his neck, not wanting to let him go. His arms wrapped around my waist just as tightly as he let my cry into his shoulder.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up in Bellamy's tent. Weird, I don't remember coming in here. I guess I cried myself to sleep and Bellamy carried me in here. Groaning, I stood up and stretched out my muscles. Maybe I should go and check on Wells. He had been on lookout last night, so I went to where he would be. Once I got there, I frowned when I realised that Wells wasn't where he should be, he wasn't even here; no one was. I stepped towards the bank, but clumsy me got her foot caught in a root, tripped over and rolled down the bank, letting out grunts of pain on the way down. I landed on something soft and opened my eyes, which had automatically clenched together when I fell, only to be met the sight of one of my best friends. His eyes were shut and his body felt cold. I quickly shot up off of him and knelt beside him. Was he…dead? No, he can't be. I shook my head and breathed out unsteadily, lifting my hand to his neck to find his pulse that was definitely there, it_ had_ to be. When I placed my hand on his neck, I felt a sticky substance on it and pulled back only to find blood on my hand. Wells' blood. My best friend's blood. A scream ripped from my throat and I shook my head violently, wishing for this all to be a nightmare. I heard a dozen footsteps rush towards me, several voices ringing out, but I couldn't hear any of them. I couldn't focus on them. All I could focus on was the dark red blood on my hands. Two hands grabbed my waist and pulled me to my feet, away from Wells and I fought them, desperately not wanting to leave my friend's side in hopes of him waking up, but he wouldn't; he was gone. I felt myself being steered away, directed back into camp. I was taken into a tent and sat down. The person left the tent. Raising the hand that didn't have blood on it up to my face, I wiped my cheek. When I pulled it back, I caught sight of Wells' blood on it. I must have landed with my face by his neck. My breathing became shallow as I found it hard to take in air. The person came back and I heard a small noise, indicating someone had placed something on the floor, but I didn't look up. I just stared at the blood and continued to hyperventilate.

"Elena, you need to take deep breaths." I heard a familiar voice say. I started inhaling and exhaling deeply until my breathing eventually became normal. "That's good, just like that." The voice said soothingly as a hand rubbed my arm. I glanced at the floor and noticed a bottle filled with water and a cloth beside it. I grabbed the cloth and poured water on it, furiously trying to scrub away the blood on my hands. The person gently pulled the cloth away from my grasp and started rubbing the blood away. "Look at me, Princess."

My eyes snapped up to Bellamy's face. "He's dead. Wells is gone. They killed him, Bellamy. The grounders killed Wells. Is this going to keep happening?"

Bellamy sighed and renewed the water on the cloth, bringing it up to the right side of my face while cupping the left side with his other hand. He began to wipe away the blood. "I don't know, but we're going to do all we can to prevent it from happening again."

"How?"

"Well, for starters, we'll build a wall. After that…well, we'll deal with that when the time comes." Bellamy put the cloth down and took both of my hands in his own. "For now, you just have to stay strong; _we_ need to stay strong, okay?"

"Okay."


	4. Murphy's Law

**Hey guys, here's the next chapter for you! Thank you for all of you're favourites/follows, you're amazing!**

**Hannemonsen: Thank you! Seeing my first review on this story made me so happy :D**

**Iwannabelikeme: I like your username, haha! I'm glad you like the way I depict their relationship, I had that kind of scenario in mind; Bellamy knows about his feelings and kinda tries to distract himself with other girls, and Elena just figuring her strong feelings for him. Thank you for reading :)**

**Queenmargaerys: Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying the story! :)**

* * *

**Elena's POV**

I woke up the next morning gasping for air. I'd had a nightmare about Wells and Atom. Sighing, I got up, running a hand through my hair to try and tame any stray hairs, and walked out of the tent I shared with Octavia. The bright light was harsh on my eyes, so I brought a hand to shield myself from it, groaning at the slight ache that ran through my head. Once I was used to it, I brought my hand down and locked eyes with Bellamy, who was by my side the minute he saw me.

"You okay, Princess?" He asked, his eyes trailing over my face.

I rolled my eyes at him. "It's just a bit of light, Bell. I'm sure I'll be fine."

"That's not what I was talking about. You look pale, maybe you should go back to sleep." Bellamy suggested as he tucked some of my hair behind my ear.

"Just leave me alone." I snapped. He scoffed and shook his head at me, turning to leave. I groaned at my hot headedness and grabbed his arm, pulling him back to me. "No, Bell, wait! I'm sorry, it's just… I didn't sleep well last night. I-I had a nightmare about Wells and Atom and I don't want a repeat of it."

Bellamy's look softened as he pulled me into a hug. "You've done nothing wrong, Sweetheart." He began to run his fingers through my hair, which was very soothing. Honestly, if he kept it up, I'd totally fall asleep. Then he stopped and pulled back, settling one of his hands on my waist while the other cupped my face. "You can't run from the nightmare, Elena. Sooner or later, you're going to need to sleep again and you're going to have to face it."

"I hate when you get all psychological on me. Can't you just be a normal person and distract me?" I huffed in annoyance, pouting up at him.

Bellamy grinned and chuckled at me. "Why don't you go and help Charlotte; keep her company."

I nodded. "I will." I saw a flash of blonde from the corner of my eye. "Right after I talk to Clarke." I added. Bellamy nodded understandingly. I went to leave, but turned back around and kissed Bellamy's cheek. "Thank you for everything you've done for me. You're a pain in the ass, but I couldn't have gotten through any of this without you."

Bellamy beamed at me. "Anything for you, Princess."

* * *

"Clarke!" I called out. I followed her out to where Wells had previously buried the other kids. Now, he was there with them. The blonde turned to me and I saw tears gather in her eyes as she launched herself into my arms, sobbing loudly. Her hands clutched at the back of my shirt and she reminded me of a child seeking comfort from their mother. "Oh, Clarke." I whispered, wrapping my arms around her and stroking her hair gently. I tried to push back my own tears; I had my time to cry, now it's Clarke's.

"We just made up." Her voice was muffled. "He didn't do it."

"I know." I told her, making her pull back slightly to look up at me.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Her quiet voice sounded so vulnerable and it broke my heart.

"He didn't want me to, Clarke. He wanted to-"

"Protect me." She finished, casting her blue eyes to the ground.

I cupped her face with my hands and made her look at me. "It's going to be hard, but we can get through this together, okay?" I wiped the tears from her cheeks.

Clarke hiccupped slightly and began to answer, but was beaten to it by Finn. "They got Wells just outside the wall." He walked over to us.

I cleared my throat and stepped back from Clarke. "I'll be around camp if you need me." Clarke nodded and I walked off to help Charlotte.

* * *

I was helping Charlotte tie a bunch of branches together, which would later make a fire. She had barely spoken two words to me. I sighed, having had enough of the silence, and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me, startled. "Charlotte, are you okay? You've been awfully quiet."

Charlotte shifted around on her feet nervously and moved away from my touch, causing me to frown. "I just have nothing to say."

Crouching down slightly so that Ii was her height, I placed my hands on her shoulders, making her look at me. "I know you're scared, two people have died, but you don't need to worry. Bellamy and I aren't going to let anything happen to you, we'll protect you, okay?"

"No matter what?" She asked hesitantly.

"No matter what." I repeated firmly.

Charlotte nodded at me and smiled, wrapping her arms around me in a hug. "Okay."

"Hey!" A voice yelled out sharply. I looked up and saw Murphy marching over to Connor, who had collapsed on the ground. "You think the Grounders are just gonna sit around, and wait for us to finish the wall? Maybe we should let the little girl do the lifting for you, huh?" He pointed at Charlotte, who paled slightly, not liking the attention on her.

"Back off, Murphy." I hissed, pushing Charlotte behind me.

"I just need some water, okay? Then I'll be fine." Connor said.

"Murphy, get this guy some water." Bellamy ordered, coming up behind Murphy. Charlotte came out from behind me. "Hey, you got this?" He said to Charlotte, pointing at the branch, which was twice the size of her, that Connor had been carrying. I raised a brow at him. There's no way he's serious. Charlotte nodded and went to pick up the branch, but Bellamy quickly stopped her with a slight chuckle and grin. "I'm just kidding." Charlotte stood back up and, even though I couldn't see her face, I knew she was smiling back at him, which in turn made me smile. It seems as though my Bellamy is back. Bell picked up the log and rested in on one shoulder. "Elena, walk with me."

I squeezed Charlotte's shoulder as I walked past her and away with Bellamy. "What is it, Bell?"

"How are you feeling?" He asked, briefly glancing down at me. His strength kinda amazed me; his voice wasn't even strained from the weight of the log. If that were me… well, it wouldn't be me because that would squash me like a pancake.

I heard Bellamy clear his throat and snapped out of my daze. I realised that I had been staring at him. "Huh, wait, what was the question again?"

Bellamy chuckled at me. "I asked how you were doing."

"You know, the whole point of being distracted from something is for you to forget it, right? And not be reminded?"

The guy simply rolled his eyes at me as he bent down to place the log where it needed to be. He stood to his full height and lightly pinched one of my cheeks. "I know, I'm just worried about you."

I laughed slightly. "All you seem to do is worry about me."

Bellamy shrugged, turned me around to face the direction we came from and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, walking me back over to Charlotte. "That's because trouble seems to be attracted to you." Can't argue with that.

Octavia frantically ran up to us. "We need you two in the main tent, now." Bellamy and I shared a look of confusion before following Octavia to the tent.

* * *

We got into the tent and found Clarke and Jasper staring at a knife and two fingers that had been placed on the makeshift table. "Why are you staring at a piece of metal? And are those…fingers?" I asked curiously, wrinkling my nose up at the sight of the fingers. Bellamy and I walked up to the table and he took his arm away from me to cross his arms, losing any sign of his smile from earlier.

"We found the knife near the place you-" Octavia hesitated, not wanting to upset me.

"Near the place I found Wells?" I asked gently, letting her know I was okay. She nodded slightly.

Clarke picked the knife up and passed it to me. "This knife was made of metal from the drop ship." She said as she watched me examine the knife. She was right. And if this knife was made of metal from the drop ship, then that means…

"What do you mean?" Jasper breathed. He was pale and shaky.

"Who else knows about this?" Bellamy inquired.

Octavia's blue eyes glanced up at her brother. "No one. We brought it straight here."

"Clarke?" Jasper tried again.

The blonde looked at him with an angry look on her face. "It means the Grounders didn't kill Wells."

"It was one of us." I finished, clutching the knife tightly.

Jasper's eyes widened. "So, there's a murderer in the camp?"

I looked up at Bellamy, who had his jaw clenched. He looked down at me and sighed. "There's more than one murderer in this camp. This isn't news. We need to keep it quiet."

I could see Clarke grit her teeth as she shook her head fiercely. She marched over to the opening of the tent, ready to go and fire accusations, but Bellamy stood in her way. "Get out of my way, Bellamy."

Bellamy shook his head. "Clarke, be smart about this. Look at what we've achieved…the wall, the patrols. Like it or not, thinking the Grounders killed Wells is good for us."

"Oh, good for you, you mean." My best friend snapped. "What, keep people afraid and they'll work for you? Is that it?"

Bellamy nodded. "Yeah. That's it. But it's good for all of us. Fear of the Grounders is building that wall. And besides, what are you gonna do? Just walk out there and ask the killer to step forward? You don't even know whose knife that is."

I flipped the knife over and let out a small growl at what I saw, causing the others to look at me. I held the knife up. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. J.M. John Murphy." That bastard. "I should've known."

"The people have a right to know." Clarke quickly grabbed the knife from me and ran out of the tent.

Bellamy looked at me. "She's making a mistake. You're the only one who can stop her."

I started to make my way out of the tent, but stopped briefly in front of Bellamy. "I'm not sure I want to."

* * *

I got outside just in time to see Clarke shove Murphy backwards. "You son of a bitch!" I walked over so that I was about a meter away from Clarke, ready to help her if he decided to try to hurt her.

Murphy chuckled slightly, surprised at the sudden burst of anger from the blonde. "What's your problem?"

Clarke held his knife up in front of him. "Recognise this?"

The sick asshole grinned and went to grab it, but Clarke pulled it back. "That's my knife. Where'd you find it?"

"Where you dropped it after you killed Wells."

Murphy frowned, conscious of the crowd that had started to gather. "Where I what? The Grounders killed Wells, not me."

"I know what you did, and you're gonna pay for it." Clarke threatened him.

Murphy scoffed. "Really? Bellamy, you really believe this crap?" He asked the leader, who stood a bit behind me with Octavia and Jasper by his side. Bellamy remained quiet.

Clarke ignored Murphy. "You threatened to kill him. We all heard you. You hated Wells."

"Plenty of people hated Wells. His father was the Chancellor that locked us up."

"You're the only one who acted upon their feelings." I spoke up, fixing an icy glare on him. He glared back at me.

"You're the only one who got in a knife fight with him." Clarke added in a raised voice.

"Yeah, I didn't kill him then, either." Murphy snapped at Clarke.

"Tried to kill Jasper, too." I heard Octavia mention and a small 'what' from Jasper.

Murphy looked around nervously. "Come on. This is ridiculous. I don't have to answer to you. I don't have to answer to anyone."

"Come again?" Came Bellamy's deep, sharp voice.

Murphy walked past me, sparing me a glance, before walking up to Bell. "Bellamy, look, I'm telling you, man. I didn't do this."

"They found his fingers on the ground with your knife." Bellamy replied quietly. Murphy remained silent.

"Is this the kind of society that we want?" Clarke started.

I stepped closer to her. "Clarke, choose your words carefully." I warned, knowing that the others could take the smallest thing in the wrong way and chaos would ensue.

Clarke looked at me and then continued her speech, making sure to look at everyone. "You say there should be no rules. Does that mean that we can kill each other without- without punishment?" Not the best thing to say.

"I already told you. I didn't kill anyone." Murphy defended himself.

"I say we float him." Connor declared. And there it is… There was a wave of agreement among the others.

Clarke's eyes widened. "That's not what I'm saying."

"Why not? He deserves to float. It's justice."

"Revenge isn't justice."

"It's justice. Float him!" Everyone started chanting with Connor. I quickly looked back at Bellamy for help, but he was glaring at Clarke. Murphy glanced around, scared, and tried to run away, but he was shoved to the ground and surrounded. Kicks and punches were being thrown at him from every direction as Clarke and I tried desperately to get into the crowd and help him. People held us back and even if we thrashed around, we couldn't get them off of us.

"No! Get off him! Get off of him! Let him go!" Clarke screamed.

"I told you to be careful, Clarke!" I yelled at her over the noise.

"I just wanted justice for Wells!"

"Oh, don't give me that! You've been nothing but a bitch towards him ever since we got down here." I spat angrily.

Clarke looked taken aback. "Because I thought he killed my father!"

I shook my head. "Even then, he said that he thought his father would just talk to Jake, but you didn't cut him any slack!"

"That isn't important right now." She shouted and ran after the rest of the crowd, who, by now, had Murphy tied up and thrown down the slope.

"Get off of me." I growled, shoving the kid who was holding me back off of me and following Clarke. The kids threw a rope of the branch of a tree and my eyes widened as I realised what they were going to do.

"You can't do this! Get off me. No! No!" Clarke screamed, shoving the boy off of her once again. I felt a hand on the small of my back and span around, ready to hit whoever was touching me, but the person was faster than me and caught my wrist. It was Bellamy. "You can stop this! They'll listen to you!" Clarke said, coming up from behind me and shoving Bellamy. I looked over to find that they had tied the noose around Murphy's neck and he was stood on a box.

"Bellamy! You should do it." Connor yelled, pointing at Bellamy. Everyone started to chant Bellamy's name.

I noticed Bellamy contemplating his options and leaning towards actually killing Murphy, so I quickly grabbed his face in my hands and turned him to look at me. "Hey, Bell, no. This is a bad idea, don't do it. You can't do it." I stressed.

He searched my eyes for any sign of doubt in my words and frowned. "I don't think I have a choice, Princess." He whispered to me.

"There's always a choice. Make the right one." I replied in the same tone. Bellamy shook his head and looked at Murphy, who mumbled Bellamy's name as a plea. Bell took my hands off of his face and walked over to where Murphy hung.

"Don't. Bellamy. You can't do this, Bellamy. No, Bellamy, no!" Clarke cried, trying to pull Bellamy back.

Bellamy glared at her furiously and pried her grip off of him. "This is on you, Sunshine. You should've kept your mouth shut." He kicked the box out from underneath Murphy's feet.

"What the hell are you doing? Cut him down!" A voice boomed from the crowd. Finn came shoving his way through, stopping at Charlotte. Oh god, Charlotte! "Charlotte, get out of here now!"

I turned to Bellamy and shoved him. "You just hung a guy in front of a little girl." I screamed, hitting Bellamy's chest repeatedly. Bellamy grabbed my wrists and I struggled against him.

"Cut him down!" We heard Finn shout again. Connor pulled a knife on him. "Get out of my way."

"Stop! Okay?" A small voice called out, making the chaos die down. It was Charlotte. "Murphy didn't kill Wells! I did!"

I froze immediately, eyes widened, watching Charlotte. "No…" I whimpered.

"Oh my god." I heard Clarke gasp from beside me as she grabbed Bellamy's axe from where it hung on his waist and cut Murphy down. Finn caught him and pulled the rope away from his neck. Murphy let out loud, violent gasps. People started walking towards him, shoving their way past Bellamy, who was just as still as I was. Charlotte looked at us sadly.

I pulled away from Bellamy and walked over to Charlotte. "You need to get in the main tent." I told her, my voice void of emotion. She nodded and ran into the tent. I felt Bellamy standing behind me. "We need to talk to her, it won't be long before Murphy gets up and wants revenge."

"Elena-" He started, grabbing my hand.

I laced our fingers together and inhaled deeply. I looked up at him. "I need to know why she did it." He nodded and gave my hand a squeeze, placing a kiss to my temple.

* * *

We walked into the tent with Finn and Clarke and saw Charlotte wringing her hands nervously. "Bring out the girl, Bellamy!" Murphy shouted from outside.

"Why, Charlotte?" Bellamy asked exasperatedly.

"I was just trying to slay my demons, like you told me." Charlotte answered frantically. Her answer caused my gaze to snap to Bellamy, who looked back at me guiltily.

"What the hell is she talking about?" Clarke hissed, but Bellamy ignored her.

"No, she misunderstood me." He reached for my hand, willing me to listen to his pleas. "Elena, you were there you know I didn't mean that!" He said desperately. He let go of my hand and turned back to Charlotte, shaking her slightly. "Charlotte, that is not what I meant."

"Bring the girl out now!" Murphy screamed again.

"Please don't let them hurt me." Charlotte begged, grabbing my hand.

On reflex, I snatched my hand away from her. "Don't touch me!" Tears gathered in her eyes, making me look away. I felt guilty for making her cry, but she killed Wells.

Bellamy sighed and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me into his side. He casted a glance in Clarke and Finn's direction. "If you guys have any bright ideas, speak up." They remained silent. "Now you stay quiet."

"Hey, those are your boys out there." Finn argued.

"This is not my fault. If she had listened to me," He pointed at Clarke, "those idiots would still be building the wall." Clarke ran a hand over her face and paced up and down the tent.

"You want to build a society, Sunshine? Let's build a society. Bring her out." Murphy demanded.

"No! Please, Bellamy, Elena." Charlotte pleaded. She killed one of my best friends and she still wants my protection?

Bellamy let go of me and crouched down in front of her. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Charlotte, hey, it's gonna be okay." He told her soothingly. Bellamy looked back at me. "She's just a kid, Princess."

I bit my lip and closed my eyes for a second, thinking about everything for a moment, before sighing. Bellamy was right. "Okay, I've got a plan. Nothing permanent, but it'll do for now."

"Let's hear it."

I turned to Clarke and Finn. "You guys take Charlotte out of the back of the tent, while Bellamy and I distract Murphy. Keep her hidden for the night and hopefully when you come back in the morning, everything will have calmed down." I explained. Clarke looked reluctant, but agreed to the plan anyway. I gave Charlotte one last glance before leaving the tent with Bellamy. I can't believe she did this.

* * *

"Well, well, well. Look who decided to join us." Murphy smirked at us as he walked towards us. His face was covered in dirt and blood from being shoved around by the others. Everyone had gathered around the tent.

Bellamy stood in front of me. "Dial it down and back off."

"Or what? What are you gonna do, Bellamy? Hang me?" Murphy sneered.

I stepped out form behind Bellamy. "Look, it was a mistake, okay?"

Murphy scoffed. "Yeah, that's quite the mistake your king made there, Princess."

"I was just giving the people what they wanted." Bellamy argued, squaring up to Murphy.

Murphy smiled coldly. "Yeah. Yeah, that's a good idea. Why don't we do that right now?" He turned to the crowd. "So, who here wants to see the real murderer hung up? All in favour?" He threw his arm up.

I went over and grabbed Murphy's arm and turned him to face me. "That's sick, Murphy. She's just a kid."

He merely stood closer to me, getting up in my face and pointing at me to emphasise his point. "You of all people should want to see her hang, Elena!"

"Well, I don't, so just give up already!" I scowled up at him, shoving him away from me.

Murphy looked at me with disbelief written all over his face. "I see." He turned back to the crowd, where only about 3 hands had gone up and they were just Murphy's little followers. "So, it's okay to string me up for nothing, but when this little bitch confesses, you all let her walk? Cowards! All of you are-"

"Hey, Murphy! Murphy." Bellamy's voiced boomed as he walked up to Murphy. "It's over."

Murphy shrugged. "Whatever you say, boss." Bellamy turned back around and started walking over to me when Murphy suddenly grabbed a log and hit him round the head with it.

"Bellamy!" I gasped, running over and catching him just before he hit the ground. I stumble slightly under his weight before setting him down on the ground, laying his head on my lap. I gently checked for a wound, but, luckily, the log hadn't caused any physical damage and there wasn't any blood, it had just knocked him out. Octavia ran forward and Murphy went to stop her, but Jasper got in his way, receiving a punch to the face. Octavia caught Jasper as he fell backwards and checked over his face.

"Come on. Let's get the girl." Murphy barked at his cronies, marching over to the tent and lift the flap open. "Charlotte! Charlotte, I know you can hear me! And when I find you, you are gonna pay!" Murphy yelled. He looked at his friends. "C'mon." They quickly left to search the woods.

"Bellamy, c'mon, I need you to wake up. Bell, Charlotte's in danger, please wake up!" I tried waking him up by shaking him, but he was out cold.

Octavia ran over to us. "Is he going to be okay?"

I nodded, placing a hand on her arm to reassure her. "Yeah, the only thing it did was knock him out, there's no physical injury. I need him to wake up soon, though, because Murphy will hurt Charlotte and I'm not going to be able to stop him and the others on my own." Then, an idea came to mind. "Can someone get me some water please?" A moment later, a bottle of water was placed in my hands. "Great, thank you."

"What are you going to do?" Octavia asked.

"This." I said as I threw some of the freezing cold water on Bellamy's face. He woke up with a jolt and a startled gasp. "Morning, Bell. We have to go." I informed him, standing up and giving Octavia the bottle. "O, we'll be back soon."

Bellamy stood up and I guess he already figured out what happened. "That son of bitch, I swear to god I really will kill him when I see him." He growled.

I sighed as his testosterone orientated ways. "Can we just focus on finding Clarke, Finn and Charlotte, please?" He looked at me, about to protest, but thought better of it and nodded reluctantly.

* * *

We had been searching the woods for a while now with no luck. "Where the hell are they?" I whined, tired, cold and frustrated.

"Charlotte! You can't hide forever. Don't worry. We won't hurt you." I jumped as Murphy's voice rang out.

"You okay?" Bellamy asked with a frown on his face as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, it just surprised me is all. I didn't realise how close we are to them. We'd better pick up the pace." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small figure slump itself against a tree. Nudging Bellamy, I walked over to the figure and saw that it was Charlotte. We ran over and Bellamy grabbed her, making her scream out.

"Let me go!" She struggled against his grip. but it was no use, Bellamy was too strong.

Bellamy covered her mouth. "Charlotte, shh, shh."

But Charlotte wouldn't give up. "No, let me go!"

"We're trying to help you, Charlotte." My voice trembled slightly as I realised that I was helping Wells' killer, but she's just a kid. She's just a little girl.

The blonde frantically shook her head. "I'm not your sister!" She shrieked at Bellamy. "Just stop helping me!" She tore her arm from Bellamy's grip and began to run. "I'm over here!"

Bellamy quickly grabbed her again. "Are you trying to get us all killed?"

"Just go, okay? I'm the one they want. Take Elena and go!"

He shook his head and clutched at he jacket. "Okay, Charlotte, listen to me. I won't leave you." He glanced up at me and spoke again. "_We_ won't leave you."

Charlotte frowned and looked at me, but I avoided her eyes. I couldn't bring myself to hold her gaze; my thoughts on the whole subject were everywhere. I've never felt so conflicted in my life. On the one hand, I want to protect her, she's just a kid who thought she was getting rid of the evil in her life. On the other hand, she murdered someone and not just anyone, one of my best friends. Surely, she's old enough to know that killing people isn't right. Charlotte saw she wasn't going to get any response from me. "Please, Bellamy." She started to run again, but Bellamy picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, making her scream loudly. "Murphy! I'm over here!"

"Come on out, Charlotte! Come on out." Murphy yelled in response.

* * *

We ran as fast as we could through the woods, trying to find somewhere to hide. Because things obviously couldn't get any worse, it was now raining and the ground was becoming very slippery. Unfortunately, instead of finding a place to hide, we found quite the opposite. The edge of a cliff, to be precise. Nowhere left to run.

"Put me down!" Charlotte screamed for the 3rd time in a minute, thrashing about wildly. He put her down.

Murphy and his bitches walked over to us, carrying torches. "Bellamy! You cannot fight all of us. Give her up."

Bellamy placed Charlotte and myself behind him. "Maybe not, but I guarantee I'll take a few of you with me."

"No, Bellamy, that's enough." I said, stepping in between him and Murphy. "Look, this has gone too far. I know you're upset and angry, Murphy, but she's just a child. You can't seriously be considering doing to her what happened to you." I stepped towards him cautiously.

"God, I am so sick of listening to you talk." Murphy snarled at me, grabbing my shoulders roughly and pulling me to him. One of his arms wrapped around my shoulders, making my hands immediately fly to it and try to tug it away from me, while he brought his other hand up to my neck. I felt something cool and sharp rest on the base of my neck and swallowed nervously. It was a knife.

Bellamy lurched forward immediately, with a predatory growl. "Let her go."

Murphy pulled me further away from Bellamy. "Who will you choose, Bellamy? The murdering bitch or your precious Princess? Choose fast because I swear to god I will slit her throat." He warned, pressing the blade into my neck. I felt it slice the skin and a small bit of blood drip down my neck. Bellamy kept his brown gaze trained on it and I could see the murderous glint in his eyes.

"Bellamy." I breathed out shakily. He raised his eyes to meet mine. I shook my head, silently telling him to forget about me and protect Charlotte.

"No, please. Please don't hurt her." Charlotte sobbed.

Clarke and Finn suddenly emerged from the bushes. Clarke's blue eyes widened when she saw the position I was in. "What the hell?"

Murphy simply ignored her. "Don't hurt her? Okay, I'll make you a deal. You come with me right now, I will let her go." He patted my shoulder.

I carefully shook my head again, very conscious of the blade that was currently cutting my skin deeper and deeper. "Don't do it, Charlotte. Don't do it!"

Charlotte looked at me with tears in her eyes and looked at the ground sadly. She went to move forward, but Bellamy prevented her from doing so by holding out an arm in front of her. "No! No, I have to-I have to save Elena!"

"Murphy, this is not happening." Bellamy told him firmly. "Let Elena go, right now."

"Bellamy, stop." Charlotte said quietly. Her eyes were glued to mine. "I can't let any of you get hurt anymore. Not because of me. Not after what I did. I'm really sorry, Elena." Charlotte apologised. She then turned around. No, she isn't… She wouldn't.

"Charlotte…" I started, but before I could finish, she jumped. "No!" Bellamy and I screamed in unison. I broke out of Murphy's slackened grip and collapsed at the edge of the cliff beside Bellamy. "No, no, no!" I screamed, slamming my fist on the ground. Another person dead. A little girl dead. I saw Bellamy stand up from the corner of my eye as I kept my eyes on the area below the cliff, staring in disbelief at what I had just witnessed.

"Bellamy." I heard Murphy mutter. A loud growl left Bellamy's lips as I heard the sound of a fist meeting a face. I turned around and saw Bellamy pinning Murphy to the ground and beating him.

"Bellamy, stop! You'll kill him!" Clarke cried.

Finn grabbed Bellamy and pulled him away from Murphy, but Bell wouldn't give up. "Get off me! He deserves to die."

I quickly got up, knowing that violence wouldn't get us anywhere and placed myself in front of Bellamy. "Bell, that's enough." I said gently, grabbing his shoulders.

He shook his head. "After what he did to Charlotte; to you?" To prove his point, he brushed my hair away from my neck to reveal the wound Murphy's blade had given me. "It's not enough."

Clarke came up beside us. "We don't decide who lives and dies. Not down here."

Bellamy panted and watched as Murphy gasped in pain on the floor. "So help me god, if you say the people have a right to decide-"

Clarke cut him off. "No, I was wrong before, okay? You were right. Sometimes it's dangerous to tell people the truth. But if we're gonna survive down here, we can't just live by whatever the hell we want. We need rules." She declared forcefully.

"And who makes those rules, huh? You?"

"For now, we make the rules. Okay?" She said, glancing between Bellamy and I.

Bell looked down at me, I guess to see what my thoughts were, so I nodded in agreement with Clarke. "She's right."

"So, what, then? We just take him back and pretend like it never happened?" He asked.

"No!" Clarke answered. We all glanced down at Murphy.

Taking Bellamy's hand in my own, I looked up at him. "We banish him."

Bellamy looked at me, a frown marred his features. He grabbed Murphy by the collar of his shirt. "Get up."

"Bellamy! Stop!" Clarke shrieked as she watch the man drag Murphy to the edge of the cliff and hang him over it threateningly.

"If I ever catch you near camp, we'll be back here. Understand?" He there Murphy to the floor. Bellamy then stood by my side and fixed his glare on Murphy's followers. "As for the four of you, you can come back and follow me, or go off with him to die. Your choice." He took my hand in his again and began pulling me back to camp.

* * *

We remained silent on the way back, clutching each other's hands tightly. A tear slipped down my cheek and I quickly brought a hand up to wipe it away. "I'm so sick of crying!" I growled, annoyed and angry at everything. "I feel so weak and useless when I cry."

Bellamy stopped and turned me around, bringing his hands up to cup my face. "I don't think it makes you weak and useless. It shows your compassion, Elena. And it's that compassion that makes you so amazing." He rested his forehead against mine.

I let out a small, bitter laugh. "Compassion, huh? And where was that compassion when Charlotte tried to hold my hand; when she was seeking comfort? God, I denied a little girl comfort. She died thinking that I hated her!" I was getting more and more emotional.

"Hey, hey, shh." Bellamy cooed. "You were in shock, Charlotte knew that and she still cared for you; she still loved you. Look, we'll get through this the way we always do, okay?"

"Together?"

He nodded. "Together." I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face into his neck as he moved his hands to my waist and pulled me as close to him as possible.

* * *

Clarke, Bellamy and I were stood in the middle of the crowd, in front of the fire, explaining why we banned Murphy from camp.

"That's why we've decided to banish him." Clarke finished the announcement.

"Anybody got a problem with that?" Bellamy asked. Everyone was silent. "Good." Everyone spread out and went back to doing what they were doing. Clarke and Finn went into the drop ship to see how Monty was doing with the wrist bands.

I sighed and raised my arms above my head, stretching out my muscles. "I think I'm going to get some rest."

Bellamy smiled down at me. "Okay, Princess. Call me if you need me."

"I wi- Ow!" A sharp pain in my wrist cut off my sentence.

"What's wrong?" Bellamy panicked, immediately jumping into action by grabbing my arm with the bracelet on it and examining it. My wrist band suddenly sparked and unclasped itself from my wrist. We looked at each other before looking around the rest of camp, where everyone with wristbands on had just gone through the same thing as me. I guess Monty failed. Great, now we're dead to the Ark. What a perfect end to the perfect day…not.


	5. Twilight's Last Gleaming

**Hiya guys, hope you've been having a good week! Here's the next chapter of 'A World in Colour', I hope you enjoy it :)**

**Iwannabelikeme: Thank you! I wanted to make Elena's character as real as possible, and I think if I was in that situation I would be highly conflicted because, yes Charlotte was a child, but she was old enough to know not to kill someone, especially an innocent person. I want to be able to explore Elena's personality in detail and depth and, hopefully, will be able to do so successfully. **

* * *

**Elena's POV**

"-ena, -lena, Elena!" Something shook me continuously, disturbing me from my sleep.

I tried to nudge whatever it was away from me. "Go away." I mumbled sleepily.

"You need to see this, get up!" I recognised what was trying to wake me up as Octavia's demanding voice.

I sighed and sat up, groaning as I stretched. "Alright, alright, I'm up." I got to my feet and followed her out of the tent. A loud rumble filled the air as I looked up at the inky abyss that was the night sky. Everyone had gathered outside to stare in awe at what looked to be shooting star that was currently soaring through the air at an alarmingly rapid pace.

"What is it?" Octavia asked me, her voice filled with wonder.

After briefly glancing at her, acknowledging her question, I went back to observing the supposed shooting star with a confused frown settled on my face. As the thing got closer, I recognised it as a launch pod. I grinned as I looked at Octavia and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. "It's help!" Excited to tell Bellamy the news, I looked around for him, only to find that he was absent. Must be in his tent. "I'll be right back." I informed Octavia, taking off towards Bellamy's tent.

* * *

I threw the flap open with a grin on my face and ran into the tent. "Bellamy, there's…" My voice trailed off as a shirtless Bellamy jolted awake, but that's not what silenced me. It was the two naked girls that he had wrapped up in his arms that were now mumbling, having been disturbed from their sleep. I swallowed the lump that had appeared in my throat as my lips trembled. What is wrong with me? I avoided his gaze, which I knew was on me, at all costs and started to back away slowly. "There's um- You uh…you should come see this." I said quietly, turning around.

"Elena, I-" I heard him start, his tone gentle, as if the slightest noise would startle me.

"Sorry for disturbing you." I cut him off quickly and sprinted out of the tent, running into Octavia.

The girl caught me and looked at my crestfallen face. "Lena, what's wrong?" Before I could reply, the sound of multiple footsteps cut me off. Bellamy and the two girls walked out of the tent and looked up at the pod. My eyes turned to Octavia, who's face had turned cold as she looked on at her brother and his…friends? Whatever they are.

"They're coming to help us." A kid said from beside us.

"Now we can kick some grounder ass." Another guy cheered.

"Please tell me they brought down some shampoo." Roma, one of the girls Bellamy was with, muttered. I scoffed at this. Because shampoo is _so_ useful and _exactly_ what we need right now. Tch, get your priorities straight. Against my better judgement, I glanced at Bellamy. He seemed worried about something. Come to think of it, he wanted us to take the wristbands off so they wouldn't follow us down…what the hell has he done? I feel like I ask this question a lot.

* * *

Bellamy and his little team had gone into the main tent to make a plan. O and I had settled down on a log and were now sat in silence. "You okay?" She asked me quietly.

"Oh, uh, yeah. I don't know why I got so worked up over earlier. I mean, I don't have any reason to be so worked up over Bellamy sleeping with the girls around here. Guess I was just taken by surprise when I saw him sleeping with two girls…" I trailed off with an awkward laugh.

"Wow."

"What?"

Octavia looked at me like I was an idiot. "You really don't get it, do you?"

I frowned. "Get what?"

O grinned mischievously at me and patted my shoulder. "You'll figure it out one day, Kid."

I blinked owlishly, trying to comprehend what she was saying. "Wha- hey! I'm older than you."

"Eh, details." She brushed me off with a wave of her hand.

I rolled my eyes and glanced towards the main tent. Standing up, I offered a hand to Octavia. "I don't know about you, but I'm sick of waiting around. We need to find that pod now, before the grounders find it for us."

* * *

"Bellamy, we need to go now." I declared, storming into the main tent. Octavia followed close behind.

The man sighed and gave me a weary glance. "No one's going anywhere, not while it's dark. It isn't safe." Seeing that I was about to protest, Bellamy quickly spoke over me. "We'll head out at first light, I promise." He looked around at the other, who he had been planning with. "Pass the word." They nodded and left.

"Everyone for 100 miles saw this thing come down. What if the grounders get to it first? Bell, we should go now." Octavia tried to reason with him.

His dark gaze settled on her before a firm look appeared on his face. "I said we wait until sunrise."

O scoffed. "Whatever." Spoken like a true teenager.

I sighed and shook my head at him. "Nicely handled." I commented sarcastically. "If she wasn't pissed off before, she sure is now."

* * *

I had settled for sitting by the gate, waiting for Clarke and Finn to return. My brown eyes scoured the camp, looking for anyone who may look like they're about to do something incredibly stupid like, for example, going to look for the pod on their own in a forest filled with unknown dangers. I had hoped no one would be stupid - or desperate - enough to do that, but alas Bellamy came sneaking out of his tent with all of his gear. Jumping up, I ran over to the other side of camp and through the woods in the direction Bellamy had run off in.

"Going somewhere?" I called out to him.

Bellamy stopped in his tracks and turned to face me. "You shouldn't be out here, Princess."

"Well, that's one thing we have in common." I remarked. "Why did you lie to everyone? To me and O?"

"Because I have to protect you and O, that's why. The only way I can do that, is to find that pod and get rid of anything that may let them come down here."

I groaned and threw my hands in the air exasperatedly. "I thought we were past all that, Bell!"

"They'll kill me, Elena." Bellamy's eyes had gained a frantic look about them.

I walked towards him, stopping directly in front of him, and gently took his face in my hands, making him look me in the eye. "Tell me what you did, Bellamy. I'll fix it, okay? My father is a powerful man, the Chancellor trusts me. He'll listen to me! So, just trust me when I say that I'll fix it."

Bellamy reached up and wrapped his large hands around my wrists. "That's just it, Princess. He can't listen to you, nothing you do can save me." He whispered.

I gritted my teeth at his stubbornness and tried to remain calm, restraining myself from slapping him. "What do you mean he can't listen to me? What did you do?"

"I shot him. I shot Jaha."

My jaw slackened, my grip on Bellamy's face faltered and his hands were the only reason mine were still held up. My brown furrowed as I tried to comprehend what my best friend had just told me. "What?" That was literally the only word that could leave my lips.

"He floated my mother and your mother. He locked you and O up, he deserved it!" Bellamy tried to defend himself.

"That doesn't mean you can shoot him!" I shrieked in reply, perplexed at how stupid this man could be. "How did you even come up with this idea? How could shooting him help you in any kind of way?"

"Someone told me that they were sending you and O down to Earth. I couldn't let you go alone and I sure as hell couldn't lose the two of you. They made a deal with me; kill the Chancellor and they'd get me on the drop ship." Bellamy explained. I stayed quiet. He let go of my wrists, letting my arms fall to my sides, and instead took my face in his hands. "Say something, please."

I licked my lips nervously and tried to use my words. "I just… I can't believe you did all of this for me. I mean I know you did it for me and your sister, and O I get, but why me? Why am I so important to you?"

He gave me a weak smile. "That's a conversation for another time, right now I have to find that pod, okay?" He let go of my face and turned to leave, but a voice stopped him.

"You killed the Chancellor?" Octavia emerged from the brushes, her mouth agape.

"Octavia-" Bellamy began to explain, but she cut him off.

"I didn't ask for this!" She yelled, before running off with tears in her eyes.

"Will you go after her, please?" Bellamy asked me.

"What? You're not going after her yourself?"

"It won't end well if I go. She listens to you, she trusts you."

I scoffed at his reasoning. "She trusted you before all of this." I paused for second. "We both did." I sprinted away from him, heading towards wherever Octavia had run off to.

* * *

It had grown light by the time I found Octavia wandering around the woods. "Octavia, wait!"

She stopped when she heard my voice and span around, running towards me. After throwing herself into my arms, she buried her face into my neck. "How could he do something like that?"

I wrapped an arm around her waist and stroked her hair soothingly. "Sometimes, when good people are desperate, they do stupid things; bad things. Bellamy thought we were in danger, so he accepted the deal."

Octavia's crystal blue eyes peered up at me. "But he keeps doing stupid things. The wristbands, dishing out punishments, the pod! Why won't he stop, Elena?"

"Because he's scared, he thinks they'll kill him for this. He wants to stay with us." I explained. I finally understood why he did everything he did, but… It doesn't change the fact that we need our people down here if we want to survive.

"Will they kill him for this?"

"Well, they said we'd be pardoned from our crimes, maybe he will be too. I mean, he was on the drop ship with us." I suggested. Pretty sure that didn't convince her. It didn't even convince me.

Octavia looked at me doubtfully. "Yeah, he was on the drop ship with us, but he had to sneak on. He wasn't supposed to be on it! He killed the Chancellor, how do you get away with something like that? You don't. I can't lose him, Lena."

"You won't. I'm not going to let anything happen to him."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know, but I'll figure something out, okay?" A twig snapped somewhere from around us. We shared a panicked look, before I nudged Octavia in a random direction, signalling for her to run. "Let's go!" She nodded and took off with me close behind her. As we ran up a hill, another twig snapped and Octavia stopped at the top to look around. However, the only thing in sight was more trees. Octavia stepped forward, standing on a large, white rock, which slipped out from underneath her foot. "O!" I called out, reaching out for her as she let out a scream. I couldn't grab her in time, so instead I - very carefully - ran down the other side of the hill after her. I heard her grunt as her head smacked against another rock and leapt down the last bit of the hill, sprinting over to her. When I reached her, I crouched down beside her and gently turned her over. Her face was covered in mud and blood was seeping out of the wound on her head, courtesy of the rock currently placed beside her. She was unconscious. "Oh my god." I murmured as I hurriedly ripped a bit of my shirt off and pressed it to her wound. Once I had done a quick check for other wounds, which she had none of thank god, I lightly shook her with my free hand. "O, I need you to wake up for me. O, if you can hear me, it's Elena. I need you to wake up, so that I can check that you're not concussed." I spoke softly, but firmly. I didn't want to be too loud, but I needed her to know that it was important for her to wake up and stay awake. She didn't move. "Damn it." I cursed quietly, glancing around for some form of help. I could call for someone, but that would let the grounders know where we are and I can't leave her alone. I groaned in annoyance and decided to try and wake her up again. "C'mon, O, get up! I don't think I'm strong enough to carry you back to camp on my own." Nothing. "Guess I'll just have to wait for you to wake up. Geez, you Blakes have a thing for testing my patience, don't you?" I mumbled. "Why am I still talking to you as if you can hear me?" I asked the unconscious girl. I think I'm losing it.

* * *

It was now dark out and, after trying to wake O up a countless amount of times (with the occasional rant about how these Blakes are most definitely going to give me a heart attack one day and how I should really start to question my sanity; I was the only person listening to my rant), I had settled down on the ground, looking up at the stars. Luckily, O's wound had stopped bleeding a while back, so I had been able to relax slightly. I wonder if Clarke's okay. I wonder if Bellamy got to the pod. What was in it, anyway? Medical supplies? I sure hope so. Ration packs? Possibly. Weapons? I highly doubt it. Giving highly dangerous weapons to kids, who were likely to accidentally shot themselves or one another, yes that would be such good idea! Not. They sure would be useful though. A small gasp brought me out of my thoughts as Octavia sat up, looking very groggy. I sprung up and knelt beside her, steadying her as she swayed slightly. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty. You had me worried for a second there."

"What happened?" O asked, clutching her head.

I moved her hand away from her wound, not wanting her to irritate it and make it bleed again. "You fell and hit your head on a rock. You've been unconscious for a while now, despite my best efforts to wake you up." A hissing noise sounded out from above us. I looked up and saw a pink/purple light shoot across the sky. Is that a signal flare?

I heard O gasp again, her eyes were widened. "Elena, look out!" Was the last thing I heard, before I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head and everything went black.


	6. His Sister's Keeper

**Just a little note before the chapter starts, I have no idea if Lincoln would actually be able to carry both Elena and Octavia (or how he would, for that matter), but for the sake of this story, let's just go with it :)**

* * *

**Flashback - 5 years ago (Elena, Clarke and Wells are 13, Bellamy's 18 and Octavia's 12)**

**Elena's POV**

Today had been like every other day so far. I woke up, had my rations with my parents and went to school. School was now over and I was hanging out with Clarke when Wells came running over to us with a big grin on his face.

"My dad taught me how to play chess, want me to show you guys?" Wells asked Clarke and me excitedly.

Clarke's eyes widened as she nodded, just as excited as Wells was. "Yeah, that'd be fun. It'll be something else I can beat you at!" She laughed.

Wells rolled his eyes at her and turned to me. "What about you, Lena?"

I was about to accept his offer, when a familiar face appeared at the doorway of the room. The person nodded their head towards the exit, beckoning me to leave with them, before walking out. "Um, I'll catch up with you guys later." I smiled and bid my friends a quick goodbye.

* * *

I ran outside of the room and bumped into someone as I turned the corner. Peering up, a grin made it's way to my face as I saw who I bumped into. "Bellamy!" I cheered, wrapping my arms around his waist.

He chuckled. "Hey, Princess."

I pouted at the nickname. "You're never going to stop calling me that, are you?"

Bellamy shook his head at me. "Never." Something seemed slightly off about him.

"Are you okay? Are you sick? Do you want me to get my mom?" I asked, making his eyes widen slightly.

"No, no, I'm not sick. I just… I have something I want to show you." He replied nervously.

My curiosity peaked. "What is it?"

"Come with me."

* * *

We arrived at Bellamy's home. Bellamy stopped outside his door and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Before I show you this, you have to promise me that you won't tell _anyone_ about this, okay?"

"Okay." I answered.

"Promise me, Princess."

"I promise." I replied firmly.

Bellamy smiled at me. "Good." He opened the door and gestured for me to go inside, quickly closing the door behind me.

"Bell, you're ho-" A girl, maybe a bit younger than me, appeared in front of us. She had been smiling until she saw me and froze up.

"O, it's okay." He walked up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders. "She's a friend of mine. Remember the girl I told you about, Elena?" Bellamy asked.

'O' nodded slowly. "The Princess?"

Bellamy grinned at her. "That's right." He squeezed my shoulders. "Princess, this is my little sister, Octavia."

My mouth dropped open at the word 'sister', but I quickly snapped it shut, not wanting to be rude. No one was allowed two children, it's against the law. I nervously tucked my hair behind my ear and politely held out my hand. "Hi, I'm Elena." I introduced myself.

Octavia glanced at Bellamy, who must have done something to reassure her, because she bypassed my hand and wrapped her arms around me in a hug. She pulled back and smiled up at me. "I'm Octavia, will you tell me some of your stories?"

"Stories?"

"She means your fairy tales." Bellamy explained.

I turned to face him. "So that's why you were interested in them!" He nodded with a smile. I looked back at Octavia with a smile. "Of course I'll tell you some of my stories!"

* * *

**At camp**

**3rd Person's POV**

Bellamy rushed around camp, torch in hand, looking for any sign of his sister or Elena. "Octavia?" He called out, lifting up the flap of a random tent. He was met with a disgruntled 'hey' from a delinquent. He groaned quietly and called out for Elena. "Elena?" The girls hadn't been in their tent and when he asked around no one had seen them return. He mentally cursed himself for letting them out of his sight in the first place. He needed to sort things out with them; make them understand his actions; make them forgive him. He had seen the look in their eyes. The look of disappointment the girls had shared broke his heart. He had to make this right, but to do that he had to find them. He saw a familiar blonde sat in her tent, peering up at him. "You're up?" He asked Clarke.

Clarke rolled her eyes and stood up. "Yeah. Knowing that hundreds of people might be dying on the Ark makes it pretty hard to sleep." She quipped, glaring up at the man.

He was pretty sick of her attitude. It was bad enough that Elena had been short with him for the past few days, he didn't need it from her precious little friend too. "Raven's flares will work."

"Her radio would've worked better." Clarke growled.

Bellamy ignored her comment and sighed. "Have you seen Octavia?"

"No." Clarke shrugged. "It's Octavia. She's probably chasing butterflies."

"Oh yeah? And would Elena also be going around chasing butterflies?" Clarke remained silent and looked at the ground.

"Exactly. Look, Clarke, I've checked the camp. They aren't here."

Clarke acknowledged the frantic look in his eyes and she couldn't blame him, the two most important people in his life were missing. "Okay. I'll help you find them. Let's check again. You go to the drop ship, I'll check the rest of the tents."

Bellamy nodded. He was grateful to her. "Thank you."

She scoffed at his thanks. "Don't thank me, I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for Elena and Octavia."

"I know, I just… really appreciate it."

* * *

**Elena's POV**

Groaning was all I could hear when I came to. My head was pounding and I could only see a faint outline of my surroundings. I was in a cave with a small makeshift bed and a little desk, covered in a bunch of random stuff. I cleared my throat and looked in the direction of the groaning. "Octavia, please tell me that's you." I said nervously.

"It's me." She replied weakly.

"Thank god, you okay?"

"Yeah." I saw her smile faintly at me. "Now we have matching head wounds."

A small chuckle left my lips. "Yeah, I guess we do. What happened?"

"A grounder came up behind you and hit you over the head."

"Of course he did, because I have the worst luck in the world, maybe even the universe." I muttered. I looked over and saw Octavia clutching her leg. "O, you okay?"

"I think I reopened the cut on my leg."

I pulled myself over to her. "How deep is it?" Before O could answer, we heard footsteps. Octavia backed away, frightened, but cried when she hurt her leg even more. I grabbed her face and made her look at me, much like I did with her brother. "Hey, listen to me. It's okay, we'll be fine." The grounder appeared round the corner of the cave, approaching us with a knife, which I could tell had been heated up due to the orange glow of the blade. Placing myself in front of Octavia, I held my hands up, surrendering. "Please, don't hurt us. It wasn't our intention to disturb you, so please just let us go." I don't think he understood me as he kept walking towards us. That, or he was just didn't want to listen to me. It's probably the latter.

"Please don't hurt us!" Octavia sobbed, clutching the back of my jacket.

I noticed the grounder's eyes looking at her wounded leg. That's when I realised what he was doing. "Wait, O, I think he's trying to seal your wound." I quickly turned around and looked at her leg, blood was gushing out of it.

"What?"

I faced the grounder and slowly held out my hand for the knife. "Please, let me do it. She's scared." He just stared at me. My eyes looked towards the knife, then at O's wound and back the grounder. He nodded and hesitantly gave me the knife. "Thank you." I looked at Octavia, who wearily glanced at the knife. "It's going to hurt, but it will make it better, promise." She nodded reluctantly and clenched her eyes shut, letting out a piercing scream when I touched the knife to the gash.

* * *

**Back at camp**

**3rd Person's POV**

Bellamy was a man on a mission. He marched into the middle of the camp and threw down a sheet filled with weapons. Hey, everybody, gather around and grab a weapon." He drew everyone's attention to him. "Octavia and Elena have been out there alone for 12 hours. Arm up. We're not coming back without them."

Clarke knew going out in the middle of the night was a bad idea, but she didn't care. Not when her best friend was in trouble. She already lost one friend, she's not about to lose another and that was about the only thing she and Bellamy could agree upon. She caught sight of Jasper, who was holding a torch up and shifting around on one spot nervously. "Hey, Jasper, you don't have to do this. You haven't left camp since we brought you back." She said in her naturally mothering tone.

Jasper smiled a brief smile, still looking very pale and nervous. "Clarke, I need to do this."

Bellamy heard her conversation with Jasper and interrupted them. Folding his arms across his chest, he gave Clarke a firm look. "We need all the people we can get." Clarke gave Jasper a look of worry as he walked past her and stood with Bellamy. "We need a tracker. Finn. Get out here." Bellamy demanded. He was getting more and more frustrated the longer Finn made him wait. "Finn, we're leaving."

"All right, I'm coming." Finn said, running out of his tent. Bellamy set about making sure everyone was prepared.

"Guys, guys. Come here! Did you see that? Look up there." Someone shouted. Everyone looked up at the sky to find a beautiful meteor shower flying over their heads.

"It's so beautiful." A girl cheered.

But Clarke knew better. "They didn't work." She announced sadly.

Raven ran up behind the blonde and Finn. "They didn't see the flares."

Bellamy frowned in confusion. "A meteor shower tells you that?"

Clarke's glare snapped to him. "It's not a meteor shower, it's a funeral." She spat angrily. "Hundreds of bodies being returned to the Earth from The Ark. This is what it looks like from the other side. They didn't get our message."

Raven launched herself at Bellamy, but Finn caught her before she could hit him. "This is all because of you!"

"I helped you find the radio." Bellamy immediately defended himself.

"Yeah, after you jacked it from my pod and trashed it!"

Clarke sighed, knowing that if this carried on, they'd never leave. So, she intervened. "He knows. Now he has to live with it."

Bellamy glared at her. He didn't need a constant reminder about what he had done. "All I know is that my sister and Elena are out there and I'm gonna find them. You coming or what?" Clarke nodded. "Then what are we waiting for? Move out!" He yelled, walking off to the front of the crowd.

* * *

**Elena's POV**

Octavia had passed out from the pain and the grounder had left. I was currently sitting with Octavia's head resting in my lap, while I stroked her hair, waiting for her to wake up. She suddenly woke up with a jolt and was breathing heavily. "Hey, it's okay, you're fine."

"Where'd he go?" She asked, panting loudly.

"I don't know." I answered truthfully. "We have to find a way out of here." I helped her stand up.

She peered up above us and saw a gap in-between the planks of wood that were clearly set up to keep us in. "Think we can get out that way?"

"It's worth a shot." I linked my hands together to give her a leg up. "Go ahead."

O placed a hand on my shoulder and place her foot on my hands, pushing herself up off of the ground. She let out a few effort filled grunts as she tried to pry apart the pieces of wood, but she couldn't do it. Hopping down, a sigh escaped her lips. "Now what?"

* * *

**With Bellamy's group**

**3rd Person's POV**

Bellamy let out a growl as they searched the woods. There had been no sign of either of the girls and he was starting to grow angry and frustrated. Why did he think that letting Elena, who attracts trouble, go after Octavia would be a good idea? Now, not only had he lost his sister, but also the girl he loved; the most beautiful, yet clueless girl he had ever met. He was vaguely aware of Roma, who he had slept with to distract himself from said beautiful, yet clueless girl, hovering close to him during his frantic search for the missing girls and was about to tell her to spread out and cover more grounds, but was cut off by someone else shouting.

"Look, over here!"

Bellamy sprinted towards the voice. "What is it?"

"Right there." The guy pointed down a steep hill at a bit of material. "You see it? Isn't that Elena's?"

Bellamy's heart began to race at the thought of finding a clue to the girls' whereabouts and his eyes narrowed, trying to get a better view of the material. "Rope." He demanded.

Finn appeared beside him, wondering why Bellamy wanted rope. "What are you doing?"

"I need the rope to get back up. Flashlight." Bellamy tied one end of the rope around a tree and the other around his waist, took a deep breath and carefully scaled the wall. Once he reached the bottom, he ran over to the material and picked it up. He recognised it as being part of the pink shirt Elena was wearing. "It's hers." He called out to the others. "I'm going to look around down here." He was about to move on, but his eyes caught sight of something red on the rock near the material.

Jasper looked down at Bellamy as he walked around the area. Jasper wanted to help save Octavia (and Elena, but mainly Octavia), so he took a deep breath, just as Bellamy did and climbed down, clutching the rope tightly. He reached the bottom quickly and ran over to Bellamy, who was hunched over the rock he had found covered in blood. Finn leapt off of the wall and onto the ground, holding his torch up to light his path. He frowned when he noticed a set of footsteps much to big to be Elena's or Octavia's. Following the footsteps, he arrived at the same place Bellamy and Jasper were. He looked along the ground and noticed smaller footprints.

"Someone else was here." Bellamy stated.

Finn nodded and looked up at the less steep hill, opposite to where they had just come from. "If I had to guess what happened, I'd say one of the girls fell down there," He gestured to the opposing hill, "and got injured and the other ran down after them. Probably used a bit of Elena's shirt as a cloth, which explains why it's covered in blood and then…"

"Then?" Jasper asked quietly.

"Someone else came along." Finn followed the bigger footsteps. "The prints are deeper going that way. He was carrying them." Bellamy clenched his jaw at the thought of someone harming and taking the girls. He was definitely going to be kicking someone's ass.

Jasper looked at Bellamy hopefully. "If they took them, they're alive. Like when they took me." They all got up and began to follow the footprints.

* * *

**Elena's POV**

"Okay, let's try something else. There must be some way we can get out of here." I said optimistically.

"I guess we should look around, maybe there's a hidden door?" Octavia suggested.

I shrugged. "What have we got to lose?" We both wandered around the dingy cave, dragging our fingers along the walls, trying to feel for a door. I didn't think we'd find anything until I came across a loose rock. "O, come here!"

She limped over to me. "What is it?"

I tugged as hard as I could on the rock and it fell to the floor, just beside my foot. "I think I've found our way out." I announced with a grin, which was returned. We both pulled the rest of the rocks out of the way and pushed back the moss that had been living there. "You wanna go first or should I?"

"I will." Octavia replied. "Help me up?" She hauled herself up and I grabbed her waist, pushing her forward and she pushed against the outside rocks to get out. Once she had completely escaped, she turned to me and offered me a hand.

I took it, hauling myself up as she pulled. We had done it. We were out. After dusting ourselves off as best we could, we shared a relieved hug. "We need to go!"

She nodded. "Agreed."

* * *

**With Bellamy's group**

**3rd Person's POV**

Bellamy, Finn, Jasper and the rest of their group were still following the footprints. They came across a dark, rather gruesome looking path. Pinned to several of the trees were human skeletons and they'd all be lying if they didn't say that they were just the slightest bit freaked out.

"I don't speak Grounder, but I'm pretty sure this means keep out." Finn murmured, taking in the sight before him.

There was a low hum of chatter amongst the other delinquents.

"Let's get out of here."

"This is crazy."

"I'm outta here."

"Yeah, me, too."

"I'm out."

Bellamy didn't turn around. He had come this far, he wasn't about to give up now. "Go back if you want. Octavia's my sister, my responsibility. They both are." He walked down the path. There was no way he was giving up on Octavia and Elena.

Jasper looked around and inhaled shakily. "I'd walk into hell to find Octavia." With that, he took off after Bellamy.

Finn was impressed by Jasper's bravery. "I think we just did." He walked after the two with a few of the others following him.

* * *

**Elena's POV**

It was morning and the sky had brightened up, which was lucky for us since we had no torches. We had been wandering around the woods for a while now.

"You think we'll find our way back?" Octavia inquired.

"Of course we will. That, or we'll run into Bellamy and whatever search party he's gathered." I smirked, knowing Bellamy was probably going crazy right now.

Octavia snickered. "He's probably going on a rampage trying to find us." It was like she could read my mind.

I groaned, looking around the area. "I wish I was a good tracker lie Finn. It would make all this much easier."

She shook her head. "Should have paid more attention in class." O grinned at me.

I scoffed and sent her a playful offended glare. "Excuse me for being more of the doctor kind of student."

O shrugged at me. "At least you're good for something." We both glanced at each other before laughing.

* * *

**With Bellamy's group**

**3rd Person's POV**

The group had been searching all night and were beginning to grow tired. They had followed the trail of footprints until they had completely faded away.

"I got nothing. We lost the trail." Finn said, facing Bellamy.

Bellamy wasn't accepting that. "Keep looking." He demanded. The group kept walking forward, oblivious to the grounder that had descended from a tree and grabbed John, covering his mouth to silence him.

"Wandering around aimlessly isn't the way to find them, we should backtrack-"

Bellamy quickly cut Finn off, giving him a look of disbelief. "I'm not going back."

Roma scanned the area, noticing that they were missing someone. "Hey, where's John?" She asked, interrupting Bellamy and Finn's dispute. Everyone browsed the area.

"I just saw him a second ago." Jasper breathed out.

Bellamy was eager to go, but he knew he couldn't leave someone behind. "Spread out. He couldn't have gotten that far." They walked around the area when a thud was heard. Turning in the direction, they were all shocked to find John's body. He was dead. His throat had been slit. Finn and Bellamy ran over to him.

"They use the trees." Finn deduced, glancing up at the trees for any sign of grounders.

"We shouldn't have crossed the boundary."

"Now can we go back?" Roma pleaded.

"There." Jasper said, eying a grounder, who was darting around.

"Another one." Diggs said, directing everyone's attention to the grounder.

"We should run." Finn murmured. They all took off.

"What are we gonna do? They keep heading us off."

"Just keep running."

They were all running as fast as they could, but quickly grew tired because of the length of time they had been awake for.

"I can't run much longer!" Jasper panted heavily.

"I'm not stopping for him!" Diggs shouted.

Bellamy came to a stop next to Jasper and turned around, grabbing his axe. "I'm sick of running anyway."

Finn halted beside them. "Hey, what are you doing?" He asked Bellamy.

"They know where O and Elena are."

"Diggs, where are you?" Roma screamed, running past them. Diggs had been running as fast as he could, trying to escape the grounders, when his leg hit a wire that triggered something to swing around and impale his heart, killing him instantly. Roma had been running towards him, when she tripped and came face to face with him. Letting out a loud scream, she took off again.

"Wait! Roma. There could be more." Finn yelled, about to chase after her. He stopped when he saw Diggs.

Bellamy and Finn were about to go after her, when Jasper spoke up. "Stop. They were leading us here. It's the only direction we could run in."

They all looked around the woods. "Hey, where'd they go?" Finn asked, slightly breathless from all the running they had been doing.

"After Roma." Bellamy said as he sprinted off in her direction.

* * *

**Elena's POV**

We heard a scream echo throughout the woods and shared a hopeful look. "You think that's them?" Octavia asked.

"I don't think grounders scream like that." I replied, dragging her in the direction I thought the scream was coming from. We stopped after a while to listen out for anymore voices that could help lead us to the group, but there were none.

"Ah!" A small, muffled yelp from Octavia caught my attention as I noticed the grounder from before grabbing her and dragging her backwards, covering her mouth with his hand.

"O!" I called out, rushing over to them and trying to shove the grounder off of her. He managed to keep hold of Octavia with one arm and shove be down into a bush with the other, watching the area that had previously been where O and I were stood. I saw Roma run past us and quickly stood up to get her to notice us, when I was shoved down again. I was about to scream at the grounder, until I saw a spear impale Roma, pinning her to a tree. A gasp left my lips as I jolted backwards out of surprise. The grounder got up, pulling O with him and grabbed my arm, yanking me up. I didn't fight him. Not while he had Octavia in his grasp, I didn't want him to hurt her.

* * *

**Flashback - 1 year ago (Elena's 17 and Bellamy's 22)**

"Here." A black mask was placed on the table in front of me. I had been reading my infamous fairy tale book, lightly tracing over the pictures that my mother had once looked at so fondly. I picked the mask up to examine it. The mask was beautiful. It was shaped like the wings of the butterflies that I had read so much about and had little silver beads dotted about.

I glanced up at Bellamy, who had given me the mask, raising a brow out of curiosity. "Should I be offended?" I asked playfully, though I was kinda confused as to why he would give me something that would cover part of my face.

His dark eyes were lit up and he had a big grin on his lips. "No" He answered with a chuckle. "I want you to wear it tonight."

I cocked my head to the side, confused. "What's the occasion?"

"The Unity Day masquerade dance, my unit is working security and I want you to come." He informed me.

"So, you want me to come to keep you company?"

Bell leaned forward and spoke quietly. "No, I want you to come to keep O company."

My eyes widened at his words. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"It's the perfect opportunity. Everyone will be wearing masks and I got O a mask that's big enough to cover most of her face, she'll be completely unrecognisable. Besides, we'll both be there. C'mon, Princess, you know how much she wants to see the Ark and a moonrise. Please?" He gave me the most heart melting smile he could possibly muster up, making me give in almost instantly.

"What about your mom?"

"It's taken care of, just say yes."

"Fine." I gave in.

Bellamy's smile widened even more, if that's physically possible, as he leaned forward and kissed my cheek. "Thanks, Sweetheart. I knew I could count on you.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Yeah, yeah." I picked up the mask and put it on, tying the ribbon together at the back. "How do I look?"

Bellamy grinned at me, very satisfied. "Perfect."

* * *

**Elena's POV**

Octavia and I were trudging along behind the grounder when Octavia fell against a tree. "My leg. I need to rest." She sighed, grunting. The grounder remained silent - nothing new there - but walked towards her, she backed away slightly as I moved towards her. He picked her up as if she weighed nothing and looked at me, nodding his head in what I assume was an attempt to tell me to keep moving. O stared at him not so subtly. "Thank you. You saved our lives." She looked at me, willing me to thank someone who clearly doesn't understand us.

The grounder's eyes moved towards me and I nodded. "Thanks for doing that."

O clearly approved of my thanks and continued talking to the grounder. "That girl back there, we knew her. So, if she's here, then so is my brother. Please, you have to help him, too. They'll kill him." She pleaded.

"Um, O." I started, capturing her attention.

"What?"

"I don't think he understands us." After a moment of silence, she threw her head back in annoyance. The grounder merely spared her a glance. He stopped, put here down and crouched down to open a door. I recognised the door as the wooden panels from earlier. We were back right where we started. Wonderful. He picked O up again and gave me a pointed look, making me reluctantly walk down the steps leading into the cave.

"Why are you taking care of us?" O questioned him. "You found us at the bottom of that ravine. Helped Elena fix my leg."

"I thought we already established the fact that he can't understand us. Plus, in case you had forgotten, he knocked me out. That isn't exactly 'taking care of us'." I remarked as the grounder pulled on my wrist, dragging me over to the wall beside O. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?" I tried to tug my arm away from him, but he grabbed my other arm and wrapped a chain around my wrist. He then attached the opposite end of the chain to a ring on the wall.

Moving over to O, he did the same thing, who also struggled. "Please don't do this." Once the chain had been wrapped around her wrist, he dragged her over to the opposite wall as she sobbed. "Stop it! No, stop it! Stop!"

I launched myself forward, but was tugged back by the chains. "Let go of her! You're hurting her! Please, stop this." I begged. He glared at me and walked away after attaching the chain to the ring.

* * *

**With Bellamy's group**

**3rd Person's POV**

Bellamy, Monroe, Finn and Jasper all searched the area for Roma. Monroe spotted Roma's figure in the distance. "There she is. Roma!" They all ran forward, relieved that they had found her, but froze when they saw the spear that was buried in her chest. Bellamy ran forward to check if she was alive, desperately not wanting to lose another person.

"They're playing with us." Finn panted, following closely behind Bellamy.

Bellamy reached forward and closed her eyes. He felt guilty because he knew that the only reason she had joined them was because she wanted to be with him. "She only came because of me."

Finn noticed the guilt and tried to make him feel the slightest bit better with the bitter truth. "They can kill us whenever they want."

Jasper's eyes frantically darted around. "Then they should get it over with!" He voice got louder with every word. "Come on! We know you're out there!"

Finn ran towards Jasper, shoving his shoulder. "You want to kill us?"

"They're coming!" Monroe warned the others. Grounder's were surrounding them from every angle. The four were backed into a small circle, watching the grounders' movements when a familiar horn sounded out. All of the grounders suddenly dispersed.

"They're leaving." Bellamy stated.

"That horn. What does it mean?" Jasper voiced his thoughts aloud.

"Acid fog." Finn answered, grabbing a parachute from his back.

Monroe watched him. "We have to run."

He shook his head. "There's no time."

* * *

**Flashback - 1 year ago**

I had arrived at the party and watched on with a smile at all the people dancing and laughing, having fun. I noticed a girl with a pony tail and full fringe dancing her way about the room. She had on a large blue mask, which made it hard to recognise her. Making my way over to her, I stole a glance at my favourite cadet, who had also noticed me. I flashed him a smile and a wave, grabbing O's hand and spinning her around.

She gave me a surprised look, not realising who I was until she stopped spinning. She threw her arms around me, letting out a laugh. "Lena, this is amazing!"

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself!"

"A guy actually spoke to me." I laughed at how excited she was. It was so cute.

The lights suddenly turned on and a voice spoke through the speaker system. "Solar flare alert. An x-class solar flare has begun on the starboard side of The Ark. All citizens must report to the nearest shelter zone immediately. This is not a test. This is a solar flare alert." Octavia looked at me, panicked, and clutched onto my arm. I started frantically looking from side to side for Bellamy, when a hand touched my back. I let out a sigh of relief seeing it was Bellamy.

"Bell, I need to get home!" O cried.

"You will." He reassured her, pulling us towards the nearest exit. However, we were stopped when a guard walked in from it.

We were desperately trying to find another exit when Lieutenant Shumway walked in. God, I hated that guy, just as much as he hated me. "Ladies and gentlemen, you know the drill. Masks off. I. D. chips out."

"Bell, what do we do?" O asked, scared out of her mind.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and spoke to her in a calm voice. "Listen to me. Whatever happens, you get back home and get under the floor. You'll be safe there from the flare, like always."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Create a distraction." He pulled his weapon out. "Go on." Bellamy was about to walk off and create whatever distraction he had in mind when O stopped him.

"Bell, how do I get home?"

"Cadet Blake. Why is your weapon out?" Shumway asked, suddenly appearing in front of us. "Masks off." He yanked mine and O's masks off. "Kane, good. I can tell your father that you're safe myself." He said.

"Good for you." I muttered.

"Get your I.D. out, Kane." He ordered. Shumway looked at O. "You too."

"Sir, she's fine. I already scanned her." Bellamy lied, covering for her.

Shumway bought it, nodding his head, until he looked down and noticed Bell didn't have a scanner. "You don't have a scanner. I. D., please."

Bellamy started having a conversation with Shumway as I turned to whisper to O. "I'm about to create a distraction, when I do you have to run, okay? Go anywhere, just try to stay out of sight." Octavia nodded understandingly. "Good, don't worry, you'll be fine." I took a deep breath. I'm going to get in sooo much trouble for this, but it'll be worth it. I swung around, lifting my elbow up to hit Shumway in the face.

He was knocked to the side and his hand flew up to clutch his face. O saw this and sprinted towards the exit. "Stop her, now!" Shumway yelled to the guards by the exit, who caught O. She gave me an apologetic look, but I shook my head at her, telling her it was fine. Shumway grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him.

"Sorry, I slipped." I spat, angrily glaring at him.

"Well, you're little slip up is enough for me to lock you in a cell. Your father won't be able to save you from this one, too many witnesses." He smirked at me. Oh, how I wish I could wipe that smug grin off of his stupid face.

"Oh, I bet you were just waiting for this day to come." I hissed. He chuckled and began dragging me with him to the exit. I glanced back at Bellamy, who was wearing a horrified expression, and shot him a smile. I managed to mouth him an apology before Shumway yanked me down the hallway and towards wherever my father and the Chancellor were.

* * *

**With Bellamy's group**

**3rd Person's POV**

The four of them had been waiting out the fog for a while now and Bellamy could feel himself growing sick of it.

"How long are we supposed to wait?" Jasper asked the others.

Monroe presented a question she thought was more important. "Will this even work?"

Finn shrugged. "We'll find out."

Bellamy growled impatiently. "No, we won't." He threw back the material, despite the complaints of the others. "There is no fog."

"Maybe it was a false alarm." Finn proposed.

Dark eyes scoured the area and caught sight of a grounder. "They're coming back." Bellamy announced.

Everyone looked around. "I think he's alone." Jasper said.

"Now can we run?" Monroe whispered.

"He doesn't see us. I'm going after him." Bellamy declared.

Finn gave him an 'are you crazy look'. "And what? Kill him?"

"No. Catch him. Make him tell me where Octavia and Elena are, then kill him." Bellamy walked off.

Jasper looked at Finn. "How do we know he's not leading us to another trap?"

"We don't."

* * *

**Elena's POV**

"Elena?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm scared." Octavia's voice sounded as vulnerable as it did the day we were both arrested.

"Me too." I admitted sheepishly. "But we have to be strong." I repeated Bellamy's words from the day I found Wells. "I know it's hard, but that's just how it is." O inclined her head, showing her understanding of my words. "Which is why, when he gets back, we're going to knock the grounder out, get these chains off of us and run."

She looked shocked at my plan, but smiled slightly, determination shining in her eyes. "Okay."

* * *

He came back not long after our conversation and bent down near O. She looked at me nervously and I nodded at her, signalling for her to hit him. She smacked his head round the side, knocking him off balance and closer to me, who then hit him on the back of the head, just as he once did to me. He fell to the floor, unconscious, as O leaned forward to grab something. Before I could see what it was, more footsteps approached us. My heart pounded at the thought of having to deal with more grounders. I heard chains rattling and saw that O had freed herself from the wall. She set about unlocking the chain around her wrist when someone entered the room.

"Bellamy?" She breathed.

"Octavia!" He sounded more relieved than ever as ran over to her.

"Get the key!" Octavia ordered, making him pick up the key and free her wrists. Finn, Jasper and Monroe entered the room.

"Monroe, watch the entrance." Bellamy instructed.

Finn ran over to me and hugged me. I rested my head on his shoulder. "I'm so glad we found you. Clarke would have come, but something came up. I'll explain more when we get back to camp." I nodded, not really caring at the moment just wanting to be free.

Bellamy finally freed O and they hugged each other. "It's okay. You're okay." He murmured soothingly.

"I don't mean to break up the family reunion, but could someone please get this thing off of me?" I asked, struggling against the chains slightly where I was so desperate to get them off. I looked up at Bellamy, who's eyes, once again, filled with relief. Finn got up and went to observe the grounder as Bellamy crouched down in front of me. He unlocked both of the locks, freeing my hands completely. I was rubbing my sore wrists with a sigh of relief, when I was enveloped in a tight, warm hug.

Bellamy had his face buried in my neck as he gripped the back of my jacket. "You're safe. You're okay." I heard him mutter, mostly to himself from what I could gather.

I wrapped my arms around him. "I'm here, I'm okay, Bell. We both are." I said, my eyes moving to Octavia, who was smiling fondly at us.

He pulled away and held my face in his hands. "I thought I might have lost you both." I shook my head at him. His eyes watched me closely, seemingly taken in my image. One of his hands pulled itself through my hair, making me flinch slightly when it grazed the back of my head. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"Uh, the grounder hit my head. It's still a little sore, but it's nothing to worry about."

O stood up and limped over to Jasper, grinning widely as she fell into his embrace. "How did you find us?"

"Followed him." Jasper answered, referring to the grounder. Bellamy helped my stand up, keeping an arm around me once I was fully stood.

"We should go. Now. Before he wakes up." Octavia declared.

I was quick to agree, not wanting to deal with the grounder any longer. "She's right, let's go."

"He's not gonna wake up." Bellamy stated, he let go of me and grabbed a sharpened branch.

"Bell, come on-" I started.

"Bellamy, stop. He didn't hurt us." O pleaded for him to stop.

He looked at the two of us incredulously. "He hurt Elena."

I suddenly had two fierce Blake gazes on me, both of annoyance for different reasons; Bellamy for trying to stop him and O for telling her brother the grounder hurt me. "Well, it was really just a small bump to the head. I'm fine, he probably just didn't want the hassle of me trying to fight him the entire way here."

Bellamy scoffed. "He shouldn't have brought you here in the first place."

I sighed in annoyance, really just wanting a semi comfortable bed to lie on and sleep. "Let's just go."

"They started this. Finn. Move." Bellamy demanded, going over to the grounder, who was still led on the floor.

Finn, who was hovering over him, picked something up. A horn. "Foghorn." Suddenly, the grounder lifted himself up off of the ground and pierced Finn's side with a knife.

"Oh my god, Finn!" I shouted, catching as he fell backwards. Bellamy launched himself at the grounder, who caught the stick that Bell held and began fighting with him. Finn was gasping for breath as I gently placed him on the ground, putting pressure on the area around the knife. "Just hang in there, Finn. We'll get you back to camp and help you." Bellamy being thrown to the floor, spear aimed at his throat, caught mine and Octavia's attention.

"Stop! That's my brother!" O screamed. Bellamy tried with all his might to hold back the spear, but the grounder had the advantage of being able to put his whole weight on the spear. I was about to get up and help him, but Jasper knocked the grounder out from behind. Bellamy chucked the spear to the side and leaned on his elbows, panting heavily. Jasper ran over to us, reaching to pull the knife out.

I swatted his hands away from it. "No! You can't pull it out. It needs to be pulled out extremely carefully, the slightest wrong movement could kill him. We need to back to camp, now!"

* * *

"Clarke! Where's Clarke? Get Clarke now." Jasper screamed at the top of his lungs as we entered the gate. Bellamy carried Finn through the gates as I kept a close eye on Finn's condition.

"Hey, I'm here. What's up?" I heard the blonde's voice. "Octavia." I heard her acknowledge the youngest Blake. "Finn? Finn!" She ran over to us. "Oh my god. Oh, oh, my god." A few of the guys came over and took Finn from Bellamy.

I held her shoulders and turned her to face me. "Clarke, I need you to stay calm, okay? He's alive, but we have to act quickly!" She nodded. "Okay, good. Get him in the drop ship now." I ordered. They walked away quickly, but carefully.

"Clarke, can you save him?" A girl, who I didn't recognise, asked Clarke.

"No. Not me. I-I need my mother. W-We need to talk to her." Clarke stuttered.

"There's still no radio." The girl clenched her fists.

"Raven, fix it! Go!" Clarke yelled, pushing her to the drop ship. She turned to me and hugged me tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay."

I returned the hug. "Who was that?"

"Raven, she was in the pod. She also happens to be Finn's girlfriend."

"Finn has a girlfriend?"

"Apparently." She mumbled.

A guilty looked crossed her face. "Hey, what happened?"

She brushed me off with a shake of her head. "Later. Right now, we have to help Finn."

I squeezed her shoulder. "We'll save him." I assured her.

Clarke's eyes filled with tears. "I hope so."


	7. Contents Under Pressure

**Here's the next chapter for you guys! Fair warning, it's rather dramatic. Hope you enjoy it :) **

* * *

**Elena's POV**

I stood side by side with Clarke, watching the horrendous, stormy weather. We looked out at the camp, which was currently being destroyed by said horrendous, stormy weather. Some of the others were trying to save the tents, though it didn't seem as though that was going very well. We had put a sheet over the door of the drop ship to try to keep the rain out while the door was still open. We couldn't close it because Bellamy and some of the others were still out there doing God knows what. "Look, Clarke, you need to get me up to speed about what the hell happened while I was away."

Clarke just stared at the never-ending downpour absent-mindedly. "I need to help Finn."

"We can't help him until Raven makes contact with the Ark. Now, tell me what happened."

She turned sharply towards me. I noticed tears gathering in her eyes. "You wanna know what happened? Your boyfriend," I'll just ignore that for now, "ripped the radio out of Raven's pod for his own selfish reasons. He shot the Chancellor."

I sighed. "I know."

"_You knew?_" Clarke hissed at me with an icy glare.

"Yes, but-" I tried to tell her the truth, but she wouldn't let me.

"You knew and you didn't think to tell me? You let Bellamy do everything in his power to make the Ark think that we're dead? You let him kill 300 people?"

I was about to scream that I had only know for about half an hour before everything with O kicked off and I didn't actually let Bellamy do anything, when I registered exactly what she had said within her flurry of questions. "Wait, what are you talking about? How did he kill 300 people?"

"Raven came down here in the drop ship in an attempt to prove that Earth is survivable - that we're still alive - so that the council wouldn't cull 300 people to make supplies last longer. She was going to communicate with the Ark using her radio, but Bellamy threw it into a lake to protect himself." Clarke explained.

"I only found out just after Raven's pod landed on Earth. O overheard Bellamy explaining things to me and got upset, so I went after her. She fell and hit her head. She was unconscious, Clarke, I couldn't leave her on her own to go after Bellamy, who would have been long gone by then. When she woke up, a grounder knocked me out and took us to some cave where we were locked up until Bellamy and the others found us."

Clarke looked unbelievably guilty and looked to the ground to avoid my gaze. "I'm sorry, I just…" She couldn't voice her thoughts.

I placed my hands on her shoulders. "I know, Clarke. Your head is all over the place right now. It's okay." She was breathing heavily. I guess she just needed to scream at someone to relieve some of the stress that had built up.

"We tried to show the Ark that we were still alive by building signal flares."

I thought back to the pink/purple light in the sky that O and I saw. "That was you." I breathed out. "We saw those, just before the grounder caught us."

Clarke nodded. "Didn't work though." She added sadly.

I squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "At least you tried."

"This is Raven Reyes. Calling Ark Station." Raven called out, trying to contact the Ark. She had a headset on that she was talking into as she changed the frequency on the radio. "Come in Ark Station. This is Raven Reyes." Her voice was growing more and more desperate. "Calling Ark Station. Please come in." Her voice lowered to a whisper. "Please, please." She cleared her throat and spoke clearly. "Can anybody hear me?"

"Are you sure you have the right frequency?" Monroe asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Raven snapped at her.

Clarke rushed over there, not wanting Raven to lose her temper, and leaned over her. "Raven? You can do this. Okay?" Raven nodded slightly. Clarke walked away and went over to Finn, unwrapping the cloth that had been around the knife stuck in Finn's side. She glanced over Finn, who was looking very pale and was covered with a sheen of sweat. I frowned as I walked over to Finn and placed my the back of my hand on his forehead. His temperature was incredibly high. "What is it?" Clarke asked, panic laced in her tone.

"He has a fever, but it's probably just due to the trauma." I answered, trailing my eyes down to the wound.

"Calling Ark Station. Ark station. Please come in." I hear Raven repeat herself again and again. "I'm on the ground with the hundred." She muttered someone in audible to me and Clarke, but I assume it was a plea for help. We needed all the help we could get.

"This is a restricted station. Who is this? Please identify yourself." Both mine and Clarke's heads snapped up when we heard a male voice being transmitted through the radio. We shared a look of hope and rushed over to Raven.

"This is Raven Reyes. I- I'm from Mecha Station. I'm transmitting from the ground. The hundred are alive. Please, you need to get Doctor Abby Griffin. Doctor Abby Griffin. Now."

"Hang on Raven, we're trying to boost your signal." Everyone had gathered around us now and were murmuring among themselves.

"Raven? Are you there?" I almost let out a cry of happiness at the voice. It was Abby.

Clarke leaned on the desk Raven was sat at. "Mom? Mom it's me."

"Clarke?" Abby gasped. I imagine she probably had tears in her eyes after hearing her daughter's voice.

"Mom, I need your help." Clarke's eyes flickered to Finn. "One of our people was stabbed by a Grounder."

"Clarke, this is the Chancellor. Are you saying there are survivors on the ground?" My jaw dropped slightly. Jaha was alive. I thought Bellamy killed him.

"Yes, the Earth is survivable. We're not alone." Clarke informed him. "Mom, he's dying. The knife is still in his chest." Abby asked to be patched through to medical as Clarke walked over to Finn.

"Clarke, is my son with you?" Jaha inquired, making Clarke freeze in her tracks. Her lips trembled slightly at the thought of Wells.

I spoke up for her, instead. "Chancellor Jaha, it's Elena. I'm so sorry, but… Wells is dead." The line was silent for a minute as Jaha took in the news.

Abby's voice was soon heard again. "I'm going to talk you through it, step by step."

I walked over to the bed where Finn was resting and stood the opposite side to Clarke. "You ready?"

Clarke nodded slowly, before we were thrown slightly off balanced by the wind, rocking the drop ship.

"Girls, just find-" The end of Abby's sentence was completely muffled, making it impossible to understand.

"What?" Clarke shouted.

I turned my head to Raven. "Raven what's going on?"

Her eyes were frantic as her gaze shifted from me to the radio and back to me again. "It's not the radio, it's the storm."

* * *

Octavia walked into the drop ship, soaked to the bone, with two canisters.

"Great." Clarke said with a slight smile. She took one of the canisters and inhaled it's scent. "Ugh." She grunted, withdrawing from the canister. "Monty's moonshine?"

"Pretty sure no germ could survive it." Octavia joked.

"Storm's getting worse. Monroe, close the door."

"But we still have people out there." Monroe argued as she looked at Clarke like she was crazy.

"Monty and Jasper still aren't back yet. Neither is Bellamy." Octavia mentioned with a worried look on her face.

I grabbed the other canister from O and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Clarke's right, we need to shut the door. Don't worry about the guys, they'll find a safe place to wait the storm out." O and Monroe nodded.

"One stitching needle." Raven announced, placing the needle in Clarke's hand.

"Great, we still need something to close the wound." Clarke informed her, trying to think of what we could use.

Octavia spoke up. "There's some wire on the second level. I used it for the tents."

I nodded. "That'll do, can you grab it for us, please?"

"Yeah." O walked over to the ladder as Raven called out to her.

"Stay away from the blue wires that run through the ceiling. I rigged it to the solar cells in the roof." Raven raised her voice. "That means they're hot! You got that?"

"Yeah, I got that." O was about to climb up the ladder when Monroe called out to us.

"Hey! They're back!"

"Bellamy!" O shouted, watching her brother walk in, also drenched by the rain.

I frowned when I saw two of his followers carry someone in. The grounder. "What the hell have you done?" I asked as I walked up to him. This isn't going to end well.

Bellamy's dark gaze rested on me. "It's time to get some answers."

"Oh, you mean revenge?" O quipped, glaring at her brother.

"I mean 'intel'." Bell corrected her with a disapproving frown on his face. "Get him upstairs." He ordered his group, who dragged the ground up the ladder.

"This isn't a good idea." I said gently so that he wouldn't snap at me.

"Bellamy, she's right." Clarke added, standing beside me. He gave her an angry glare and ignored me completely.

"Girls, okay we're ready. Can you hear me?" Came the crackled voice of Abby through the radio. Bellamy look surprised to hear the voice and glanced at me as I quickly looked away from his gaze. We needed to contact the Ark, I will not feel guilty for it.

Clarke sighed. "Look, this is not who we are." Her tone was low and quiet.

"Girls?" Abby called.

"It is now." Bellamy stated, walking away. I shook my head, disappointed with the outcome of our conversation, and turned back to Finn, who was the most important thing on our plate right now.

* * *

"Okay, so the blade is at a sharp upward angle. Between the sixth and seventh rib." Clarke informed her mom, pacing up and down.

"Okay, how deep?" Abby asked.

I leaned down and took a look at the knife. "It's hard to say." I thought back to how long the knife was. "Maybe a couple of inches?"

"Okay, just don't remove the knife yet." I heard the light scuffling of feet behind me and saw Raven pacing back and forth. Clarke handed her one of the canisters of Monty's moonshine for her to sterilise her hands with, just as Clarke and I had done earlier. Raven took a large sip and then poured some on her hands. "Do you see any fluid?"

"Wha-" Clarke began, but cut herself off as she glared at the loud delinquents in the room. "Damn it! Clear the room." She ordered Raven, who quickly nodded.

"Everyone! Upstairs! Now! Let's go!"

I felt Finn's forehead again, his temperature was still up, so I decided to check with Abby. "Abby, he has a fever, is that normal? I mean, I know it can accompany trauma, but it's really high." My worried tone caused Raven to immediately rush back to Finn's side.

"It's okay, Elena. Temperature can get rise very quickly and high after a trauma, we just need to focus on getting the knife out and then his temperature should go down. Well, remembered about it accompanying trauma though." Abby praised me, bringing a small smile to my face. I know she did something terrible, but her voice still sounds like home. "Okay, I need you to tell me if there is any fluid leaking from the wound."

"No." Clarke answered after checking.

Abby muttered something that we couldn't understand and then spoke clearly to us. "That's good. That's actually really good. You got lucky."

Raven smiled as her as watered. "Hear that? You're lucky." She whispered to Finn. I couldn't help but notice the uncomfortable look on Clarke's face.

* * *

We were preparing to take the knife out. "Can you do this, Clarke? Or shall I do it?"

Clarke shifted around on the spot and inhaled deeply. After swallowing, she spoke up. "I have to do this."

I gave her a reassuring smile. "You can do this, you've got this."

"Okay," Abby's voice sounded from the radio, "firm grip on the knife. You're gonna need to angle it upward and to the left very slightly to the left as it exits the rib cage."

"How very slightly?" Clarke questioned, holding her hands up in the air, ready to pull the knife out.

"3 mi- " The sound cut out, Raven turned around and walked over to the radio. Just our luck that a storm had to occur when Finn gained an almost fatal wound.

"Wait, what was that? You dropped out." Clarke asked, her voice was shaking with nerves.

"Clarke, 3 millimetres. Got it?" Abby repeated.

"Yeah. Okay, I got it." She paused. "Here goes." Raven walked over to the side of the bed. I walked over to her and grabbed her hand to comfort her. She looked at me, shocked, but squeezed my hand tightly with a small smile on her face.

"Steady hand, Clarke. You've assisted me on trickier procedures than this. And once that knife is out, the hard part is over." The drop ship shook again, thanks to the weather.

"Alright. Extracting now." Clarke announced. She grabbed the knife and pulled very slightly. Finn's eyes shot open as he let out a pained gasp.

"He's waking up!" Raven cried.

"Okay, Raven I need you to calm down and help me hold him down." I instructed in a calm, but firm voice. I placed my arm across his chest and held his arm with my other hand as Raven did the same on his stomach.

"Finn, I'm gonna get that knife out of you, okay?" Clarke told him.

He was still gasping with pain, but managed to speak. "Good plan."

"Finn, you can't move. You got it?" He groaned and nodded. "Okay. Here it goes."

"Nice and slow, Clarke." Abby said.

"Finn, do not move." She began pulling the knife out. "Almost got it. Hold still." Suddenly, the drop ship lurched from side to side, sending us all flying. I had managed to hit the back of my head in the same place the grounder had hit it, causing me to let out a cry of pain. However, I quickly shook it off and focused on Finn, who had been thrown to the floor beside Raven in the middle of surgery, but no longer had a knife in him AND was still alive. So, that's good. Several people screamed upstairs.

"Clarke. Clarke? What's happening? Clarke, can you hear us? Clarke?" Abby asked frantically.

"It's out. She did it." Raven smiled. Clarke breathed a sigh of relief and shared a smile with Finn, which didn't go unnoticed by Raven.

* * *

Clarke cut off the remaining wire after she finished the last stitch. "Okay. I'm done."

"Good. Do you have anything to cover the wound?" Abby replied.

"We'll make do, like always."

"Should he be this pale? Warm, too?" Rave asked with a worried look.

"He's lost a lot of blood, Raven, but if your boyfriend's anywhere near as tough as you, I'm sure he'll be fine."

I felt Finn's forehead for a third time and frowned. "No, Abby, Raven's right. He's still just as feverish as before, if not more so."

"And his breathing's uneven." Clarke added.

"Girls, you need to give him some time to recover." She scolded us lightly in a motherly tone. "Let me know if he gets any worse, but I think- I think he might just be out of the woods."

"Well, down here, there's nothing but woods." Clarke muttered. "I need a break."

"I'm game." I replied. "I'm going to check on things upstairs."

"Okay." Clarke smiled.

* * *

I quickly climbed up to the second floor, sparing O a quick smile, before going up to the third floor, where Bellamy had taken the grounder. I pushed open the hatch and climbed up, only to be stopped by Drew. "Move, now."

Bellamy sighed, clearly knowing that I wasn't going anywhere. "Let her through."

Drew moved and I walked over to Bellamy, stopping in front of the grounder. His face was bloody and bruised, making me gore at Bellamy. "I hardly think that was necessary."

Bellamy purposefully ignored my comment and bitter tone. "How's Finn?"

"He's fine."

"Well, if he didn't hate us before, he sure does now." Clarke remarked, hopping off the ladder and making her way over to us.

Bellamy rolled his eyes. "Who cares?"

"His people will care. How long until they figure out where he is? And what happens when they do? I mean, when they come looking for him? They will, Bellamy."

"Relax, Sunshine."

Seeing that Bellamy and the others were distracted, I moved closer to the grounder, who watched me carefully.

"I'm so sorry for all of this." I whispered to him. I was vaguely aware of Bellamy giving Clarke a speech about how we were already being killed and how we were fighting a war. "I know you don't understand me, but…I'm still sorry." I sighed, wishing the grounder could understand me. "I should never have let him out of my sight when we returned back to camp." I said, more to myself that the grounder.

"Clarke, Elena, he's seizing!" I heard Raven's hysterical voice call out.

Clarke jumped into action. "We're on our way!" She ran to the hatch and climbed down. I glanced at the grounder one last time before following her down.

* * *

The moment my feet touched the floor, I ran over to Finn. He shaking uncontrollably.

"He was fine, then-"

"Get my mother on the radio now." Raven stared at Finn. "Raven, now!" Clarke screamed.

"The radio's dead! Interference from the storm." Raven looked at both of us. "Please don't let him die." She sobbed.

Clarke and I held Finn down until he eventually stopped seizing. "It stopped. Quick, help me get him on his side." Clarke ordered. We pushed him onto his side. "Elena, there is fluid in his lungs." Clarke cried. She felt his cheek. "God, he's burning up."

"Fluid in his lungs. Does that mean the knife hit something?" Raven asked.

"This isn't blood. It's something else. I did I did everything she told me."

"Enough! Both of you calm down and pull yourselves together, because you two panicking isn't helping anyone." I looked at Clarke. "Think back to all the times we watched our mothers work, Clarke. Shortness of breath. Fever. Seizing. It's poison."

Raven shook her head frantically. "But you sterilised everything. I watched you do it."

Clarke and I looked at each other, trying to find the answer when it hit us. We both turned to look at the knife. "He poisoned it." I said quietly. Grabbing the knife, I made my way over to the hatch.

"I'm coming with you." Clarke yelled after me.

"Fine, Raven you stay with Finn."

* * *

"Elena!" Octavia shouted as she saw me appear on the ladder. "They locked the hatch."

"Of course they did." I growled, glaring at the hatch. I started pounding on it as hard as I could. "Bellamy, I swear to god if you don't open this hatch right now, I will make your life a living hell!" The hatch opened and I climbed up, this time being blocked by Miller.

"Get out of the way, Miller. Now!" Clarke screamed from below me. He moved and we both climbed up.

Clarke snatched the knife away from me and marched towards the grounder. "What's on this?" She held the knife up in front of him.

Bellamy came up behind her. "What are you talking about?" I noticed Octavia appear beside me, looking very confused.

"He poisoned the blade. All this time, you knew Finn was gonna die no matter what we did. What is it? Is there an antidote?"

Octavia interrupted Clarke's interrogation. "Clarke, he doesn't understand you."

"The vials." Bellamy said, picking up a wooden box filled with vials. "It's gotta be here."

Clarke nodded in agreement as she threw the blade to the floor. "You'd have to be stupid to have a poison around this long without an antidote. Which one?"

"Answer the question!" Bellamy voice boomed.

I sighed, seeing this was going nowhere. I grabbed the bow from Clarke's hand and walked over to the grounder, stopping in front of him. "Please, tell me which one is the antidote. If you don't, they'll hurt you and I don't want that." The grounder just stared at me with the eye that wasn't swollen shut, unwavering.

Octavia ran to my side. "Show us, please." She begged.

"Which one? Our friend is dying down there and you can stop that." Clarke asked desperately.

Bellamy brought his hand up to his face, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, until he decided to walk over to O and me. "I'll get him to talk." He was going to use more violence, wasn't he? I stood in between him and the grounder. "Move, Princess."

"Violence clearly isn't the answer." I said, referring to his obviously failed attempts of getting the grounder to talk.

O grabbed his arm. "Bellamy, please don't."

He ripped his arm from O's grip. "He wants Finn to die. Why can't you see that?" He screamed in her face.

I pushed him away from her. "Stop yelling at her!"

He turned to Clarke. "Do you want him to live or not?"

O also turned to Clarke, hoping to talk some sense into her. "Clarke, you even said it yourself. This is not who we are! He protected Elena and me. He helped fix my wound. He saved our lives."

"We're talking about Finn's life." Bellamy barked.

Clarke's eyes flickered between the Blake siblings, before finally landing on me, looking for help, maybe? I shook my head as a 'no', which made her face harden as she looked at Bellamy. "Do it."

I gawked at the blonde. "You're not serious! It won't work, Clarke." Bellamy walked over to one of the chairs.

Octavia lurched forward, but Miller and Drew caught her. "Just tell us!" She struggled against their grip.

Bellamy cut a seatbelt off of one of the chairs, put it over his shoulder, and then cut the grounder's shirt off of him. "You're gonna show us the antidote or you're gonna wish you had."

"Bell, please stop this." I pleaded weakly, knowing that he wouldn't listen to me. I watched as he took the seat belt in his hands and whipped the grounder with it, making Octavia, Clarke and I flinch.

Clarke ran over to the grounder and kneeled in front of him, laying out all of the vials. "Please, which one's the antidote?"

"Just tell them." Octavia advised.

Again the grounder remained silent, so Bellamy placed a hand on Clarke's shoulder to grab her attention. "Clarke." She bowed her head and moved. Bellamy proceeded to whip the grounder again. I closed my eyes and turned my head to the side, not wanting to accept the fact that Bellamy is actually torturing someone. The grounder's grunts of pain was the only sound, other than the whipping, to fill the air.

"Enough!" Octavia cried out loudly.

"You guys! He's getting worse!" Raven's voice roared from the bottom floor.

Clarke sighed. "We're running out of time." She kneeled in front of the grounder again, begging for his help. "Which one? Which one is it? Please, if you tell us which is the antidote, they'll stop this."

I passed Bellamy, who was bent over, leaning on his knees, panting slightly, and sat beside Clarke. "Is it this one?" I asked, pointing at the vial on the left. Still nothing. This guy is ridiculously stubborn. Or loyal. Whichever.

Clarke stood up. She was getting incredibly desperate and as we all know, desperate people make extremely bad choices. I heard a small thud from behind me and saw that Bellamy had thrown the seatbelt away. He placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it lightly, wanting me out of the way. I knew I'd be moved by force if I didn't move and, because I still have my dignity left, I did as he wanted. "If that doesn't work," Bellamy started as I moved away, "maybe this will." I looked at his hand and saw a big, metal screw. Oh god. "Clarke, you don't have to be here for this."

"I'm not leaving until I get that antidote." Clarke refused to leave. She turned around as Bellamy walked over to the grounder, pulling his arm back.

"Last chance." He warned. Nothing.

"Oh my god!" I gasped and span around, covering my mouth with my hand, as Bellamy threw his arm forward and pierced the nail into the grounder's hand. I looked back as I heard muffled, pained moans and saw the grounder's hand shaking violently, the nail still lodged in his hand. I knew I'd be the one cleaning that up later.

"What's taking so long?" Raven demanded, climbing up the ladder. "He stopped breathing."

"What?" Clarke shrieked.

"He started again, but next time, he might not." Raven added.

"He won't tell us anything."

Raven snapped her head to the side, snarling at the grounder. "Wanna bet?" She marched over to the wires, plucking out the blue ones that she had previously told O to stay away from.

"What are you doing?" Bellamy queried, cautiously and wearily.

"Showing him something new." She rubbed the ends of the wires together, creating sparks, getting closer to the grounder. He moved away, letting out shocked grunts. She latched the wires onto his skin, electrocuting him. The grounder's scream sounded out as the lights flickered. She pulled them away. "Which one is it? Come on!" When he refused to answer, she shocked him again. He still didn't listen, so she pulled the wires away and screamed at him. "He's all I have."

"No more!" Octavia's voice screeched. There were tears in her eyes. I saw something glimmer in her hands and realised what she was doing.

"He's letting Finn die."

"Octavia, wait!" I tried to stop her.

She looked at me. "He won't let me die, Elena." The grounder seemed to have caught on to what she was doing as well as he thrashed about. She sliced her arm with the knife.

"Octavia, what the did you-" Bellamy reached out for her as she passed him, but she avoided his grip.

O knelt in front of the grounder and looked up at him. "Please, tell me which one."

I joined her, kneeling down and grabbing her hand. She squeezed mine. "Is it this one?" I asked, pointing at the one in the middle. The grounder shook his head at me. "Okay, how about this one?" I asked, grabbing one with a yellow liquid inside of it. He nodded. "Yeah? Okay, good. Here." I gave it to Clarke, who said thank you and quickly ran off with it. I gave the grounder a grateful smile.

"O-" Bellamy placed his hands on her shoulder to help her up, but she pushed herself away from him.

"Don't touch me." She hissed. Bellamy looked hurt.

"Hey, O, go downstairs and get the antidote from Clarke. I'll clean his wounds."

O's eyes flickered between Bellamy and me. "Okay."

* * *

I had trusted Miller and Bellamy to stay in the same room as the grounder alone while I got some clean water and a cloth. I made sure to be as quick as I could.

As soon as I got back, Bellamy came over to me. "Princess, I-"

"Don't call me that." I quietened him with a glare. He looked taken aback, never had I told him to stop calling me that. But I had never been so angry, so disappointed with him. "Just go, Bellamy. Miller's here, I'll be fine." I didn't look at him as I made my way over to the grounder, setting the water down on the floor and soaking the cloth in it. I heard Bellamy sigh and mutter to Miller before leaving the room. "I'm really sorry, but I need to remove this." I said, pointedly looking at the nail so he understood me. He nodded. I gulped as I grabbed the nail and pulled it out, not missing the quiet grunt from the grounder. "Sorry!" Setting down the nail beside the bowl, I grabbed the wash cloth and began gently wiping away the blood.

"Hey." Someone said softly. It was O. "Can I take over?"

"Sure." I gave her the cloth and stood back.

"I'm so sorry. You saved our lives and look at the thanks you get. I never wanted any of this to happen to you." I heard O say quietly to the grounder. I looked down, ashamed at what my friends had done.

"Thank you." My eyes widened as O glanced back at me.

Miller sat up in the corner, alert. "Hey, he just say something?" He walked over to us.

"No." O and I answered in unison.

"You know your brother doesn't want you up here, Octavia. Let's go. You too, Elena." We both nodded and followed him out.

* * *

The weather had finally cleared up and everyone was trying to clear everything away. I sighed and leaned against a tree, observing the damage. My hands were kept busy messing with the screw that Bellamy had forced through the grounder's hand. Bellamy hesitantly walked over to me. I kept my eyes trained on him, remaining silent. He grabbed the nail from me, chucking on the ground and propped himself against the tree, arms folded across his chest as he watched everyone. I had yet to say a word to Bellamy since telling him to leave. What could I say? After everything, those people dying, the grounder being tortured, what was I supposed to say? Bellamy was a completely different person to the man I knew on the Ark.

"Please, tell me what's going on in that beautiful head of yours." I heard Bellamy say quietly.

"I don't know who you are anymore." I paused, taking a moment to peer up at his expression. His face was stone cold, hardened glare settled on me. "I get that everything you've done was to protect your sister-"

He cut me off. "and you."

I ignored his comment, stepping in front of him. "But bringing someone back to camp and torturing them… and for what?"

"If I hadn't of brought him here, Finn would have died."

"Octavia saved Finn, Bellamy. Not you, not Clarke. You didn't get any answers out of him, you just endangered the whole camp by bringing him here. You can't keep him here forever, you're gonna have to let him go eventually, that or something will happen and he'll escape. Either way, it will make the grounders hate us even more than before."

"I had to do it, Elena. I had to find out what we're up against somehow."

"Yeah well it didn't work." I snapped, my anger was growing stronger by the second.

Bellamy stood to his full height so that he was now towering over me. "I'm trying to help us all survive."

I let out a short, bitter laugh. "You have a funny way of showing it."

Bellamy looked away, clearly frustrated. His tongue darted across his lips before he brought his gaze back to me. "What is this really about, Elena?"

I swallowed back the lump that had formed in throat and lifted my eyes to look at the sky, trying to keep the tears from falling. When I felt that I had my emotions under control, I gave Bellamy his answer. "You went after the radio, even after I told you that I would help you, and 300 people died because of that."

Bellamy scoffed. "And there it is. What do you want me to say, Elena? Yes, I made a mistake. I have done a lot of bad things recently and I will have to live with them for the rest of my life, but if it means that I can protect Octavia, this camp, _you_," He cupped my cheeks with his hands and leaned closer to me, "then I won't stop doing them. You say you don't know me anymore and that's because I'm not the same person that you knew back on the Ark. I had to change in order to survive down here. Who we are and who we need to be to survive are very different things. The sooner you realise that, the better."

I blinked, which allowed the unshed tears to be shed. "Is that supposed to be your way of telling me that I'm the one that needs to change? That I need to lack any sense of compassion that I have now, the thing that you said made me _so_ amazing, to be able to survive down here?"

He used his thumbs to brush away my tears. "That's not what I'm saying."

"Then what are you saying, Bellamy?" I asked exasperatedly.

"I'm saying that sometimes, we need to follow our heads, not our hearts."

"And by we, you mean me." Silence. "Fine, then watch me follow my head when it tells me to keep my distance from you." I took his hands off of my face and walked away.

"Elena!" He called out, grabbing my hand.

I snatched it away from him. "Please, Bellamy, just leave me alone."


	8. Day Trip

**Elena's POV**

It had been a few days since everything went down and I hadn't spoken to Bellamy once. I gave Miller a small smile as he walked out of the main tent, where we had managed to set up a video chat with the Ark. He had been informing the parents of the people who had died about their children, something I know is hard to do.

"Hey, Elena. Your dad wants to talk to you." Miller informed me, making me freeze on the spot. I nodded numbly and made my way over to the tent. My breath hitched in my throat as I sat down on the seat and placed the headset on my head. I hadn't seen my father in a year, let alone spoken to him.

There on the other side of the screen, sat my father; hair slicked back as always, sitting up tall and proud. He looked just as I remember, except his eyes. They looked kinder now. "Elena." I heard him breathe out, tears actually filled his eyes.

"Hi…" I greeted him awkwardly, not sure what to say.

"I'm so glad you're safe, Kiddo." Kiddo, huh? He hasn't called me that in a long time. Not since Mom died.

My teeth sunk into my bottom lip to keep it from trembling. "Where were you?"

My father's brow furrowed out of confusion. "What do you mean?"

"When I was being sent to my death. Where were you? Abby came to see Clarke, but you never showed up."

A guilty expression washed over his face. "I'm sorry-"

"You're sorry? Sorry doesn't cut it, Dad. You didn't come and see me one last time before I left." I paused for a second to take a deep breath and calm myself. "Did you think that we would survive?" I asked hesitantly, not sure if I really wanted to know the answer.

He stayed quiet for a minute, before gently shaking his head. "No, I didn't."

"And you didn't come and say goodbye? Nice to know how much you care." I spat angrily.

Dad snapped when he heard my words. "I didn't want to have to say goodbye to my kid, Elena. It hurt too much, especially after your mother."

"So, you thought that it would be easier for me to die believing that you didn't care about me?"

"Sir," A voice from my father's side interrupted us, "The Chancellor wants to start the council meeting."

My father nodded. "Send them in." He turned to me. "We'll talk about this later, Elena."

"There's nothing to talk about." I replied. "I'll be back in a second, I'm going to get Clarke."

* * *

Clarke and I were now sat at the computer, wearing a headset each, sitting in on the council meeting as representatives of the 100. "Tell me about the grounder. Can he provide any insight on how to survive winter?" Chancellor Jaha queried. I stayed quiet, knowing that the grounder did in fact speak English and could help us, making a mental note to ask him about the winter.

"We're doing everything we can to prepare here. We're gathering nuts and berries, curing meats, digging for roots, but the truth is that we'll freeze before we starve." Clarke told them.

Dad nodded and picked up a tablet. "There's good news on that front. According to civil defence plans from before the war, there's an old emergency aid depot not far from the landing site. Here are the coordinates." He held the tablet up for us to see. I wrote the coordinates down.

"In addition to supplies, it could provide shelter for the hundred and for the citizens coming down from the Ark." Jaha added.

"And what makes you think it's intact?" Clarke asked.

"It was designed to withstand nuclear warfare." Dad answered.

I looked back at the screen, finishing jotting down the coordinates. "Okay, we'll have someone check it out."

"Chancellor, I have to object." A blonde woman spoke up. She was the ex Chancellor. I frowned, curious as to why she was there and where Abby was. "Project Exodus is under way. The kids should sit tight in their camp until the first drop ship launches."

Jaha was quick to argue. "Even if everything goes without a hitch, the 100 would die from exposure before relief arrives. I'd like a moment with Clarke alone, please, and I know there's a line of parents waiting to talk to their kids." The council members left.

I stood up and rested a hand on Clarke's shoulder. "I'll go to the depot, okay?"

"Okay, you should take Bellamy with you." She said. I gave her an extremely reluctant look. "It's not safe to go on your own and he is the other leader of this camp. Take him." She explained.

I sighed. "Fine. I'll see you later."

* * *

"Why do you even care, if I ruined your life? You should want me to go up there. Maybe you'll get lucky and he'll kill me, problem solved." I heard O say to Bellamy, shrugging at him and getting comfortable in her place, as I walked into the drop ship. I frowned and walked over to the Blake siblings.

"Octavia, you know I didn't mean that." Bellamy's voice sounded tired.

"What is she talking about?" I asked, confused as to why O would think that she ruined Bellamy's life. He loved her more than anything. Bellamy looked at me, surprised that I had actually spoken to him.

"Apparently, Bellamy's life ended the day I was born." O replied nonchalantly.

I turned to Bellamy with a sharp glare. "You said that to her?"

He sighed and looked at O. "It was a heat of the moment thing. We were arguing, we both said things we didn't mean."

O scoffed at him. "Speak for yourself."

I shook my head and decided to let them sort it out themselves, I had more important things to do than playing mediator. "I need you to come with me." I stated, settle my gaze on Bellamy.

He looked at me, confused, but also hopeful. His face then darkened. I guess he decided to make his own assumptions about what I was going to say. "If Clarke asked you to convince me to talk to Jaha, then the answer is still no."

"That's not why I'm here," Bellamy looked intrigued, "but you should still talk to him." He rolled his eyes. "I'm here because the Ark found some old records that show a supply depot not too far from here and I need you to come with me to take a look at it."

"What kind of supplies?"

"The kind that might give us a chance to live through winter."

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you're good back up."

"Because you haven't punished me enough?" He asked with a slight chuckle.

I rolled my eyes at him and began to walk out of the drop ship with him following me. "I'm not punishing you, Bellamy."

"You're shutting me out. That seems like a punishment to me."

"I'm just 'following my head'." I mimicked Bellamy's words from the other day.

I heard him groan. He stayed silent after that and I didn't think he was going to say anything else until he spoke up again. "Something else is wrong with you." He noted.

"Just go and get your stuff." I ordered, walking over to the tent I knew Clarke was in, seeing to Finn. I poked my head in. "We're leaving in a sec." I informed the blonde. "How are you feeling, Finn?"

"Eh, I'll live." He chuckled weakly.

"Glad to hear it." I said with a smile. "We'll be back soon, okay?" I told Clarke.

"Okay, be careful."

"Always."

* * *

I found Bellamy packing rations. Way more than we needed. He was watching everyone else carefully. "That's a lot of rations. This is just a day trip."

Bellamy closed the bag and shut the lid of the box. "A lot can happen in a day."

"Whatever, let's just go." I shrugged, not wanting to know why he was acting all weird.

* * *

"So, you gonna tell me what's up with you?" Bellamy asked after a long stretch of awkward silence.

"No, can we not talk?"

He grabbed my hand and made me face him. "Look, Princess, you may be icing me out right now, but you can still tell me what's wrong." He grinned at me. "It might make you feel better." He tried to convince me.

I frowned and looked away. I had always confided in Bellamy whenever something had upset me or angered me and he does usually say something profound to make me feel better. I decided to give in. You can confide in someone you're angry with, right? "I spoke to my dad." His expression immediately became a mixture of understanding and worry. "He thought that the 100 would die and didn't bother to say goodbye because it would 'hurt him too much'. He only thought of himself." I felt a weight lift of my chest.

"Then he's an idiot. He should always put you first, no matter what." Bellamy tightened his hold on my hand.

"Yeah, well.." A silence fell upon us. I cleared my throat. "We should get moving." I pulled my hand away from his and started heading towards the depot. We walked in silence again for a few minutes. "You know, you can't avoid Jaha forever. They're coming down soon."

"I don't need a lecture, Princess. Besides, I thought you didn't care."

"I never said that." I felt Bellamy's gaze linger on me for a moment. "He might let it go, we have been through a lot." My eyes browsed the ground, looking for any sign of the depot. "It's supposed to be around here somewhere. Can you see it?"

"No, but there must be a door around here somewhere, so keep looking." He instructed. "I shot the man, Elena. He won't just forgive and forget." He was probably right, but there has to be something we can do to convince Jaha to not punish Bellamy.

"Jaha has a heart, if you just tell him why you did it, then he might understand and forgive you for shooting him…Oh wait, that would involve compassion. Can't have any of that around down here, can we?" I shot at him, sarcasm heavily laced in my tone.

Bellamy rolled his eyes at me. "When are you going to let that go?"

"When you man up and face your fears." My foot hit something metal. Peering down at the ground, I saw two handles poking out of the ground. I kneeled down and pulled the dead grass away from it. "Bellamy, look, a door!" I tried to pull it open, but it wouldn't budge.

"Mind your hands." Bellamy warned. I moved them away and watched as he hit the door with his axe a couple of times. A chill ran down my spine as I got the weird feeling that we were being watched. My eyes searched around the area. "What is it?"

I didn't see anything and didn't want to worry Bellamy. "Nothing."

He nodded, but his face told me that he didn't believe me. "Okay then. Give me a hand." We both pulled the door open together. It lead to a stair case, which we climbed down to get into the depot. I grabbed two torches from my bag and handed one to Bellamy. "Thanks." We looked around the place. "Do you really think this place hasn't been touched since the war?"

"Who knows." I shrugged. As we continued to walk throughout the place, avoiding the multiple cob webs that were sprawled about absolutely everywhere, we came across came across an old, rotting skeleton, dressed in some sort of uniform. "Oh, that's creepy." I whined, quickly walking past it.

"Hell of a place to die." Bellamy commented.

My nose wrinkled up in distaste. This place was making me feel nauseous. "I don't think we're gonna be able to live down here."

Bellamy shone his torch over the room. "Anything left down here is ruined." We heard running water and came across a leak in roof, which was allowing a load of water to pour into the room.

"They must have distributed most of the supplies before the last bombs went off." Bellamy and I started leafing through all of the boxes. I opened the one to my left and found some blankets. "Look, blankets!"

"You're excited about a couple of blankets?" Bellamy muttered, obviously annoyed that we hadn't found anything else.

"It's better than nothing." I snapped, not wanting to deal with his attitude. "Plus, these blankets will help us in keep warm through the winter."

"How about a canteen or a med kit or a decent freaking tent?" Bellamy began to rant, kicking a barrel over out of frustration. It fell on its side and liquid poured out of it, as did something else. "Oh my god." Bellamy whispered with a smile on his face. I looked down at what had come out of the barrel. Bellamy and I shared a look of disbelief. Guns.

* * *

Bellamy had chosen to set up a target to practice our aim. I watched him mark a big X on a piece of red cloth and hung it over a pole, while I munched on the berries from the ration pack in my hands. "This changes everything. No more running from spears." He walked over to me, popping a few of the berries from his own ration pack into his mouth. "We're lucky the rifles were packed in grease. The fact that they survived means we're not sitting ducks anymore." After putting the ration pack down, he picked a couple of rifles up and handed one to me. "Ready to be a badass, Princess?" He smirked at me.

I laughed slightly. "The words princess and badass don't really go well together."

"Didn't your mom say you could be whatever kind of princess you wanted to be?"

I looked at him, shocked. "You actually remembered that?" He merely shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal and it probably wasn't to him, but to me, it was. It meant that he was actually paying attention to me when I'd ramble on and on about my mom and what an incredible person she was. It meant that he really cared. "Well, I don't even know how to hold it, let alone shoot it."

"Come here then, you need to learn how to do this." He said, putting his gun down and gesturing for me to walk over to him.

I stood in front of him and held the gun up, resting it on my shoulder. "So, I just hold it on my shoulder?" I clarified with the expert, and I use this term very lightly.

"Yeah, just a little higher this end." His arms wrapped around me to position the gun properly and his head rested on my shoulder so that he could see what he was doing.

I felt butterflies flutter around in my stomach and my breath got caught in my throat at his closeness. I turned my head to ask him if I was doing it right, but froze when I saw how close his face was to mine. My eyes trailed up to his and held his gaze for what felt like an eternity. I saw his eyes flicker down to my lips. His warm breath gently brushed against my face as his breathing got slightly heavier. Realising what was happening, I quickly snapped myself out of the trance by clearing my throat and moved away. "Maybe you should show me how to do it first." I suggested.

Bellamy shook his head, as if he were trying to clear his thoughts away, and agreed. "Uh yeah, watch and learn." He picked up his rifle and aimed at the target that was on the wall. He pulled the trigger, but the only thing that happened was the gun making a small clicking noise. He got rid of the bullet and took a deep breath. Pulling the trigger again, the same thing happened.

I smirked at him, feeling very smug. "When does the learning part come into play?"

He rolled his eyes at me. "My bullets are duds. Try yours."

I held the gun the way Bellamy had shown me and aimed at the target. I pulled the trigger and a bullet shot at, narrowly missing the middle of the X. Not bad for my first time. "Wow!" I turned to Bellamy with a grin on my face. "Okay, so maybe that was a little bit amazing! Is it bad that I found that so satisfying?"

Bellamy chuckled at me. "No, it's not. You've got pretty good aim for someone who's never shot a gun before. Try again."

I shook my head. "No, we shouldn't waste the ammunition."

"You need to practice."

"We need to talk about how we're gonna keep guns around camp, where are we gonna keep them, and who has access." Bellamy took the gun from me and shot the target, hitting the middle. He sent me a pointed look, one that just had 'I told you I was good' written all over it. I ignored him and carried on with what I was saying. "I'm guessing Miller's at the top of your list. You trust him, right?"

Bellamy nodded. "Make sure you keep him close. The others listen to him."

"I should keep him close?" I asked, bringing the gun away from his face so that he'd concentrate on me and not shooting. "Bellamy, what's going on with you?" He remained silent. I sighed, agitated, when my eyes settled on his bag, which was filled with rations. Oh, please tell me he's not planning what I think he's planning. "You're leaving." I said bluntly.

"I don't have a choice. The Ark will be here soon."

"So you're just gonna leave Octavia? Me?" What happened to his 'you may hate me, but I'm still gonna look out for you' attitude?

"Octavia hates me. She'll be fine. You will too, you have Clarke and Finn to look out for you." He caught my disapproving look. "I shot the Chancellor, Princess. They're gonna kill me. Best-case scenario, they lock me up with the Grounder for the rest of my life, and there's no way in hell I'm giving Jaha the satisfaction. Keep practicing." He said, handing me the gun. "I need some air." He left the depot.

* * *

I tried to go back to practicing my aim again, but my sight was beginning to get blurry. The large X had disappeared completely and I couldn't stand straight. Holding myself up by leaning against the wall behind me, I dropped the gun on the floor. I closed my eyes, willing away the dizziness, but was thoroughly confused when I opened them and found myself back in my cell on the Ark.

"Elena." A kind and gentle voice said from behind me. The voice brought tears to my eyes.

I turned around. "Mom?" I shook my head, not believing what was happening. "Why are you- How are you here?" I ran to her and hugged her tightly, not wanting to let go. She felt so real, but she couldn't possibly be here.

She pulled away and looked at me with her beautiful blue eyes that shone with the warmness I had always longed to see again. "It doesn't matter how, baby girl. You're confused, that's why I'm here."

"What?" What did she mean?

"You're conflicted about your situation with Bellamy." She hit the nail right on the head.

"I guess I am. He's done some awful things, Mom, things I shouldn't really forgive him for. I just…can't help but care for him."

Mom brushed my hair out of my face. "I know."

Tears were now streaming down my face. "I don't want him to go, Mom. I don't want him to leave me." I sobbed, burying my face in her chest.

"And why not?" She inquired. Why not? Why couldn't I stop caring for him? Why didn't I want him to leave?

I thought back to the moment we shared when he was teaching how to shoot. That was why. That was the exact reason why I couldn't let him go. "Because I love him." I whispered.

Mom smiled sweetly at me. "I thought so."

"You came here to make me realise that, didn't you?" She nodded. "Thank you."

She opened her mouth, but her voice sounded distorted; completely wrong. "Whatever, crazy bitch."

I frowned. "Mom?" Something suddenly hit the back of my head and my vision became clouded with black spots.

* * *

When I came to, I was alone. I quickly got up, grabbed a rifle and ran out of the depot, rushing to find Bellamy. I had no idea who had hit me, but I wasn't about to let that same person harm Bellamy. I heard the sound of a gun being cocked. My head turned in the direction of the sound and I ran over to it.

"Nothing personal." I hear someone say. I saw Dax, one of the delinquents, pointing a gun at Bellamy's head. Bellamy was on the floor, defenceless, but had his hand in the air as though he was holding a gun. I guess he had experienced some kind of hallucination too.

I held up my own gun and walked forward. "Put the gun down, Dax."

Dax turned around and pointed his gun at me instead. "Should've stayed down there, Elena. I tried not to kill you, but here you are and Shumway said no witnesses."

"Shumway? Bellamy, what's he talking about?" I asked, looking behind Dax and at Bellamy.

Bellamy avoided my gaze. "Shumway set it up. He gave me the gun to shoot the chancellor." I guess I should've known. I always knew that creep was bad news.

"So he was the one who brought you the deal."

Dax brought my attention back to him. "Walk away now and I won't kill you."

"Put. It. Down." I emphasised each word slowly.

"Your choice."

I pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. My eyes widened as I threw the gun to the floor and ran to take shelter behind a nearby tree as Dax shot at me. Damn it, I must have picked up the gun Bellamy had been trying to use. I heard a grunt and looked back to find Bellamy tackling Dax to the ground. He punched Dax in the face, who in turn punched Bellamy back, knocking him off. I tried to get the stupid gun to work as Dax climbed on top of Bellamy, punching him repeatedly as he reached for the gun. "No!" I ran over to them and tried to pull Dax off of Bellamy. "Get away from him!" Dax brought the gun up and swung it at my head, knocking me back. I groaned and sat up, watching as Bellamy lift his hand up and pierced Dax's neck with something, killing him almost instantly. Bellamy's face was covered in blood as he stared at Dax, horrified at what he had done. I ignored the warm, sticky liquid that was spilling out of the wound on my head and the dizziness I felt and picked myself up so that I could sit back against a tree. Bellamy stumbled over and sat beside me, both of us panting. "It's okay."

He looked over to me with tears in his eyes. "No, it's not. My mother…if she knew what I had done, who I am…she raised me to be better, to be good, and all I do is hurt people." He hiccuped slightly. "I'm a monster."

I got up and kneeled in front of him, grabbing his face in my hands to make him look at me. "You're not a monster, Bell. You saved my life, again." His eyes searched mine as I wiped his tears away. "You were right before, we all need to change to survive down here. You changed because you had to and you have always made the hard choices with the thought of protecting me, O and the rest of camp in mind. We all need you, Bellamy. And…it may not mean anything to you, it may not be enough for you, but I'm sorry for acting like a total bitch towards you, when you were just trying to protect me."

He placed his hands over my own. "I should be the one asking for forgiveness, Princess, not you."

"Then it's done. You're forgiven, Bell. So, please, come back home with me. I won't let anything happen to you. We'll face whatever's coming our way _together. _Just like we promised."

I heard Bellamy swallow, before he pulled me into his embrace. "Together. Just like we promised." He repeated, holding me tightly. I wrapped my arms around his neck, just as tightly.

* * *

We eventually went back to collect the guns and the blankets and began the journey back to camp.

"So, we're okay?" Bellamy fretted, probably worried that I said all that in the heat of the moment.

I grabbed his hand and laced our fingers together. "We're okay." I confirmed with a smile.

Bellamy let out a relieved sigh and grinned at me. "You know, these past few days have been hell without your constant complaining." He chuckled.

I gaped at him. "Shut up, I do not constantly complain!"

"That's true, half of your talking is filled with sarcastic comments." We both playfully glared at one another, before bursting into laughter.

"I've missed you too." I said once we had calmed down. Bellamy leaned over and kissed the top of my head.

* * *

When we got back to camp, we were greeted with panicking teens. "What if he brings other grounders back? He'll kill us all." Someone declared.

"Or worse." Someone helpfully added, making everyone else freak out even more. Nice going.

"Let the grounders come!" Bellamy's voice bellowed as we entered the camp. "We've been afraid of them for far too long, and why? Because of their knives and spears." We walked ingot he middle of camp. "Well, I don't know about you," He glanced at me and smirked. We both dropped the bags of guns on the ground for everyone to see, "but I'm tired of being afraid." Gasps and murmurs made their way through the crowd.

"These are not toys, guys; they're weapons and they're dangerous. We have to be prepared to give them up to the guard when the drop ships come, but until that happens, they're gonna help keep us safe." I announced, taking in the excited stares of everyone as they revelled in the fact that we now had guns.

"And there are plenty more where these came from. Tomorrow we start training. If the grounders come, we're gonna be ready to fight."

* * *

Bellamy had gone to give O a blanket and talk things over with her, while I went over to the main tent. I entered the tent and sat down on the chair in front of the monitor, requesting to speak with the Chancellor. They had made sure to have someone in the room at all times, just in case we needed to talk to them and vice versa. While they went to retrieve him, I quickly went to get Bellamy. I walked out of the tent and called over to Bellamy, who said one last thing to O and then came over to me. "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." He replied nervously.

I grabbed his hand in my own. "I'm with you." We walked back into the tent and settled down in front of the monitor, which showed Chancellor Jaha. We both placed a headset on our heads and listened intently as the Chancellor began to speak.

The Chancellor looked shocked to see Bellamy. "Mr. Blake, I've wanted to talk to you for some time now." Bellamy's grip tightened around my hand.

"Chancellor Jaha, I have something I'd like to say before you say anything." Both he and Bellamy watched me carefully. "You sent us down here as one last desperate attempt at survival. Basically, you sent us down here to die. However, most of us somehow managed to stay alive and a large part of that is thanks to Bellamy." My eyes moved from the screen to Bellamy. "He is one of us now. He deserves to be pardoned of his crimes, just like the rest of us."

I turned back to the screen when the Chancellor spoke up. "Elena, I appreciate your point of view, but it's not that simple."

"It is." Bellamy stated. "If you want to know who on the Ark wants you dead."

Jaha was quiet for a moment, before he leaned forward. "Bellamy Blake, you're pardoned for your crimes." I couldn't help but throw my arms around Bellamy's neck. He wrapped his around my waist as I turned my head to the left to look at the screen and mouthed a quick thank you to Jaha, who smiled at me fondly. We broke apart as Jaha spoke again. "Now, tell me who gave you the gun."

* * *

Clarke was seeing to the wound on my head, courtesy of Dax. "You did the right thing, bringing those guns back. I just hope everyone handles them correctly and appropriately."

"Bell is deciding who gets one. It will be fine." I assure her as she dabbed a wet cloth on the wound to clean it.

"'Bell'? You two have made up then?"

"Yeah…Clarke?"

"What is it?" She asked.

"I love him." I admitted with a slight blush.

She gave me a small smile. "I know."

"I just needed to tell someone." She chuckled at me. "What happened between you and Finn?"

The smile left her face and a frown settled in its place. "We slept together and the morning after, we found Raven."

My jaw dropped. "What?" She nodded. "What a jerk."

"Boys, huh?" She said weakly.

* * *

**So, what do you think of Bellena so far? That's their ship name, by the way. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! :)**


	9. Unity Day

**Elena's POV**

Everyone was gathered around the monitor that had been placed in the middle of camp, so we could all watch Jaha's Unity day speech. I stood towards the back with my arms crossed, listening to what Jaha had to say. "My friends, this is a historic Unity Day. Every year, we mark the moment our ancestors of the twelve stations joined to form the Ark, but this is the last time we do so while aboard it. Next year, on the ground."

"Right." I heard Miller scoff. He was stood at the front of the crowd beside Raven. "After we did all the work. Someone shut him up."

Raven smirked at him. "You shut up, Miller. No one's forcing you to watch."

Jaha's speech continued. "For ninety-seven years, we have eked out an existence, hoping that someday our descendants would return to Earth."

An arm wrapped itself around my shoulders and a kiss was placed on the top of my head. "Hey, Princess. Enjoying the speech?"

Knowing exactly who it was, I gave Bellamy a brief smile and a sarcastic answer. "Tremendously."

The deep chuckled that rumbled throughout his chest made me flush slightly, as I was acutely away of how close Bellamy was. "Spoken to your father at all?"

The extra colour left my cheeks as a frown settled on my face at the thought of my father. "I have nothing else to say to him. Besides, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to get rid of him once they come down, so whether or not I talk to him now doesn't really matter."

"Well, I have some news that might cheer you up." Bellamy grinned down at me.

"What is it?" I asked with a raised brown.

"The camp will be celebrating Unity day too, which means Monty will be making plenty of moonshine."

I laughed at his news. "I feel better already." I declared. Hopefully, Clarke will loosen up and have a few drinks too.

"Thought you might." Bellamy turned me to face him by placing his hands on my waist and pulling me into. "But, you're not allowed to get too drunk." He smirked at my childish pout. "I don't want you to get yourself into trouble, Sweetheart. You're bad enough when you're sober, let alone when you drunk." Bellamy joked, though I'm pretty sure there was some truth to those words.

"Wooo, yeah! Monty strikes again!" Jasper cheered, holding a container up and running around the camp with it. "We call this Unity Juice." He began pouring the alcohol into the bottles being shoved his way.

"And there's my stress reliever." I announced, giving Bellamy's chest a quick tap, before running off to get my bottle.

"To our sons and daughters on Earth listening to this message, we will see you soon. The first Exodus ship will launch in under sixty hours, carrying you the reinforcements that you need, so stay strong. Help is on the way." I heard Jaha conclude his speech. A round of applause was given. He quickly moved the celebration on to the part where the children re-act 'the story of us'. I watched the play as I walked over to Jasper, eager for a drink.

A little girl was stood in the middle of a circle of children, who marched around her, waving the flags of the 12 stations in the air. "Long ago when the Earth was on fire, through space all alone. Then one day, Mir floated by Shenzhen, and they realised life would be better together. The other stations saw this, and they wanted to be together, too. When all the stations were formed, they called themselves-" Her speech was cut short by when the comms stopped working.

* * *

We hadn't focused too much on the comms cutting out, simply assuming that it was due to bad connection. Instead, we had chosen to party on into the night, something that I had been more in favour of. Raven had managed to get some music playing through the radio and there were now people dancing beside the fire. I had my fair share of alcohol, enough to feel nicely buzzed. I noticed Clarke and Bellamy talking to each other as they watched everyone else have fun. Running over to them, I pounced on Clarke gently. "C'mon, Blondie! You need to drink a lot to catch up with meee~" I told her in a sing song voice. Bellamy and Clarke both chuckled at me, probably because drunk me is hilarious. "The King's being boring! He won't drink. Clarke, tell him he has to drink." I demanded.

"How about this; I'll have a drink as long as you slow down a little on the alcohol intake." Bell compromised.

"Hmmm, nope!"

"Well, I'll have a drink." Clarke said, walking off to find the container filled with alcohol. One down, one to go. Now, I just have to figure out a way to make Bellamy loosen up.

A mischievous grin danced upon my lips. "You're it!" I giggled, hitting Bell's chest and running a few metres away from him.

He simply rolled his eyes at me. "What are you, 5?"

I shrugged, happily dawdling away from him. "Fine, I'll run around the camp by myself…and will probably get lost out in the middle of a dangerous forest, but oh well!" I taunted him, breaking into a sprint.

"Wha- wait, Princess!" I heard Bell stumble over his words before calling after me, shocked that I had actually run off. His heavy footsteps were close behind me. I ran to the outskirt of the camp, away from everyone else and took refuge behind a tree. Bellamy must have seen me as, when I looked back, I saw him walking over to me, stopping on the opposite side of the tree. I beamed at him as I darted from side to side behind the tree, making him very cautious about which direction I'd choose to run in. I faked right and then ran to the left, trying to get past him and back into camp. However, the only thing I achieved was smacking right into his chest. His hands gripped at my hips as he pushed me back, pinning me against the tree. I tried to push him away, struggling to get free, all the while letting out bubbly laughs. His hands reached up to grab mine and pin them above my head as he pushed his hips towards my own to keep me from escaping. I halted all attempts of escape as I looked up into his impossibly dark eyes, which were filled with an emotion I wasn't very familiar with, but loved the way it felt all the same. We were both panting from the sudden burst of exercise and his laboured breaths spilled out across my cheeks. My tongue darted across my lips as I watched his eyes flicker down at them. Suddenly, he was leaning in closer and I felt my eyes flutter shut without consent. One of his hands still held my wrists above my head as the other cupped my cheek and tilted my face up towards his. Finally, his soft lips descended onto my own. The kiss was slow and gentle, as if I'd break if he applied too much pressure, but was enough to make my head spin pleasantly. We pulled away for air and I wriggled my wrists as a signal for him to let go of me. Bellamy did as I wanted and I wrapped my arms around his neck. His hands ran themselves down my sides and around my waist as he leaned down to kiss me again. This time, the kiss was more desperate; needy; passionate. His tongue swiped across my bottom lip, asking for entrance, which I eagerly allowed. We fought for dominance for a moment as I buried my hands in his hair and tugged at the curls lightly in response to the pleasure I felt. He eventually won and made sure to explore every inch of my mouth, eliciting moans from me that seemed to only encourage Bellamy even more.

He pulled away, breathing heavily. "Jump." He murmured as his hands lifted me up by my waist. I helped him by jumping up and wrapping my legs around his waist, locking them securely behind his back. Our lips latched back onto to each other as we resumed our heated make-out session.

That was until we were interrupted by the joy that is Clarke. "Woah, um, is this a bad time?"

I sent her an annoyed, pointed look, which I hope said 'are you really asking us that right now?'. "Yeah, you kind of are, Clarke."

I felt Bellamy rest his forehead on my shoulder. "Get rid of her." He mumbled, placing a kiss on my neck. My face flushed when he did so, because I was very aware of the fact that Clarke was here.

Her face was slightly pink. "I need to talk to you." She managed to squeak out. "It's serious."

He groaned against my shoulder and set me down, though his hands never left my waist. "This had better be good, Clarke."

Clarke sighed and messed about with her hair. "Finn's set up a meeting with the Grounders." She turned to me. "They want to talk to you and me."

"No way in Hell." Bellamy growled, holding onto me tight.

I placed my hands on his shoulders and squeezed them lightly. "If they want to talk to me, I'll go. When do we leave?"

"Now." Clarke replied.

Bellamy stopped me from leaving. "You think that impaling people with spears is code for "let's be friends"? Have you lost your damn minds?"

"I think it might be worth a shot. I mean, we do have to live with these people." Clarke argued.

"Besides, it's not like we're going to be alone." I added. They both looked at me, confused. "You're our backup. Bring whoever, just make sure you follow us and stay out of sight."

Clarke nodded in agreement. "Good idea. Bellamy, bring guns." She began to walk off.

I knew Bellamy was still hesitant about letting me go. "Bell, I'll be fine. You'll be there with a weapon." He began to protest, but I quickly cut him off with a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

* * *

We were walking through the forest, towards the grounders. I made sure to stay behind Clarke and Finn so that I could sneakily leave some of the hallucination creating berries as a trail for Bell and the others to follow. Clarke was talking about how this may be a trap, but Finn told her to have hope. Their little discussion allowed me to be alone with my own thoughts. I made out with Bellamy. Bellamy made out with me. Does this mean he feels the same way I do? We never actually got round to the talking part… I sighed and shook my head, trying to clear it enough to focus on the matter at hand. Getting sober and talking to the grounders. Think sober thoughts, Elena. I looked at the other two and saw Finn wince.

"Let me have a look at that." Clarke demanded, assuming that it was because of his wound. She lifted his shirt up and placed a hand by the wound, examining it closely. Awkwardly long eye contact was made between Clarke and Finn. The blonde snapped out of whatever trance she was in and sighed. "Seriously, Finn, you're putting a lot of faith in a guy who stuck a knife in you."

"He was defending himself." My lips moved to their own accord. They'd been doing that a lot recently… Clarke gave me an incredulous look, not believing that I actually just defended the grounder. I merely shrugged my shoulders at her.

Finn ignored mine and Clarke's little exchange. "And you're sounding more and more like Bellamy."

"I'm just trying to keep us alive." Clarke fired back.

"So am I."

* * *

We arrived at the meeting place, a bridge to be exact. On said bridge, Octavia waited, pacing up and down. "O?" I called out.

She turned to me and smiled. O ran over to me and hugged me. "You came! I knew you would."

Clarke's crystal blue eyes flickered from Finn to Octavia. "So that's how you set this up." She settled her glare on O. "You helped him escape, didn't you?" Clarke said accusingly.

O sighed and looked annoyed at the blonde. "I trust him, Clarke." She turned to me with a hopeful look. "You do too, right?"

"Well, I mean…" I searched for the right way to answer, not wanting to cause a dispute between the two girls. "I trust him enough not to hurt us." Clarke looked satisfied with my answer, but O frowned at me. "I haven't spent as much time with him as you clearly have, O."

"Someone's coming." Finn announced, looking across the bridge where someone was running towards us. It was the grounder who took us. O ran up to him and jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly. Clarke nervously backed away when the grounder looked at us, but Finn reached for her hand and pulled her to him.

I walked up to the grounder. "Hi, I'm Elena. I'm really sorry about what our people did to you."

The grounder smiled at me and nodded his head at me. "I'm Lincoln." Ah, so that was his name. At least I can stop referring to him as 'the grounder' now.

"Oh my god. Horses!" Clarke gasped, excited by the sight. I can't say I blame her, the horses were incredibly beautiful. I bet she itching to paint them. I grinned at the thought. However, because all good things must come to an end, the excitement was soon replaced with worry. There were three horses, each carrying a grounder each. I assumed that the woman in the middle was the leader. Her eyes were ringed with black war paint, much like the paint Lincoln had on his face when we first met him. The leader casted her cold glare on us. Either side of her were two male grounders with large, and very creepy, masks on that covered their faces. They both carried various weapons such as spears and bow and arrows.

"Hey, we said no weapons." Finn said as he and Clarke ran over to us.

Lincoln frowned at his leader. "I was told there wouldn't be."

"It's too late now." Clarke stated, looking at Finn. He nodded at her and gestured for me to walk with them as they stepped forward together.

Lincoln quickly put his arm out to stop Finn. "They go alone." Greeeaat. Finn was clearly extremely reluctant to let Clarke go. Thanks for the concern, Finn!

"I'll be fine." Clarke murmured to him.

"Clarke-" Finn started.

"Hey. It's time to do better." Clarke and I shared a nervous look before walking towards the leader together.

Their leader climbed down from her horse and met us half way. "Your names are Elena and Clarke?"

"Yes." We answered in unison.

"I'm Anya." She introduced herself. Clarke held out her hand for Anya to shake, receiving a questioning glance from me. Was she serious right now? Anya merely stared blankly at the hand. Clarke awkwardly withdrew her hand.

I cleared my throat, making Anya look at me. "Look, we haven't exactly started off on the right terms, but we all think that we can figure out a way to live together in peace." I explained to her.

She nodded at me, which I thought was a sign of agreement. I was wrong. "I understand. You started a war that you don't know how to end."

"Uh, no. That's not what I meant at all."

Clarke interrupted us. "You attacked us for no reason." She snapped.

I grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her to me. "Okay, calm down, they have weapons." I whispered to her quietly.

Anya scowled at Clarke. "No reason? The missiles you launched burned a village to the ground." I almost face palmed at the bad luck we shared collectively as a group.

"The flares? No. That was a signal meant for our families. We had no idea-" Clarke frantically tried to defend our people, but Anya was having none of it.

"You're invaders. Your ship landed in our territory." She has a fair point. They were here first.

"We didn't know anyone was here. We thought the ground was uninhabited."

"You knew we were here when you sent an armed raiding party to capture one of us and torture him. These are all acts of war."

"Okay, that last one has a bit more to it than just our group raiding his cave." I pointed out. This leader wasn't being fair. "But, I do see where you're coming from and I have apologised to Lincoln on behalf of our people.

"You think an apology is enough?" Anya growled, stepping closer to me.

I narrowed my gaze at her and stepped closer to her. "No, but it's a start." For a brief moment, I thought I saw an impressed look pass over Anya's face.

Clarke quickly pulled me back. "We need to put an end to all of this."

Anya looked between Clarke and me. "Lincoln said there are more of you coming down, warriors."

"The guard, yes, but also farmers, doctors, engineers." Clarke informed her. "We can help each other but not if we're at war."

"Can you promise that these new arrivals won't attack us, that they'll respect the terms we agree on?"

I thought about our head strong council that likes to do as they please. "Potentially…"

Anya scoffed at my answer. "Why would I agree to an alliance that your people can break the moment they get here?"

"Our people are reasonable." 'Kind of' I added mentally. "They won't fire at you as long as you don't fire at us."

Clarke quickly backed me up. "She's right. And if you fire the first shot, those people coming down won't bother negotiating. Our technology…they will wipe you out."

Anya squared up to us. "They wouldn't be the first to try."

"Elena, Clarke, run! Run!" Jasper yelled as he appeared from the bushes below the bridge, shooting at the trees with his gun. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Anya pull a dagger out from her sleeve, about to swipe at Clarke. I caught her wrist and pushed it away before it could slice Clarke's skin. Anya began to struggle against me immediately, thrashing about wildly as I continued to try and keep the dagger away from my face, which it had become dangerously close to several times. Anya suddenly cried out in pain as her right arm was shot. I quickly looked over to see Bellamy lowering the gun from his face. Grabbing Clarke, I ran back to the other side of the bridge.

"You guys, get down!" Finn screamed as we ran towards him. Clarke and I ducked down to dodge the spears and arrows being shot our way. When we reached Finn, he grabbed Clarke by the shoulders and dragged her with him. Again, thanks for your concern, Finn!

"Bellamy, get back! Go!" I called out to him, seeing that he was still stood in a very easy to shoot place, waiting for us to be safely out of the way. I heard a grunt and noticed that Lincoln had been shot in the arm while protecting O.

"Oh my god! Lincoln, you've been hit!" She cried, clutching onto his unharmed arm, worried.

Lincoln tore the arrow out of him. "It's just a scratch." We finally reached them and stopped, wanting to make sure Lincoln was alright. "Run! Don't stop till you get behind your walls. Go, take her!" He pushed O into my arms.

Octavia struggled against my grip, reluctant to leave him. "Lincoln! No!"

"O, come on! It's not safe for us to stay here." I told her. She hesitated, before doing as she was told.

* * *

We all made it back to camp and came to a halt, panting heavily. Finn glared at Bellamy.

"You got anything to say?" Bellamy glowered at him.

"Yeah. I told you no guns!" He shouted at Clarke.

"I told you we couldn't trust the grounders. I was right." She growled.

"Why didn't you tell me what you were up to?" Raven asked. I hardly think this is the time for this, but whatever.

"I tried to, but you were too busy making bullets for your gun." Finn screamed at her defensively.

Bellamy spoke over him. "You're lucky she brought that! They came there to kill you, Finn."

"You don't know that! Jasper fired the first shot!"

Octavia glared at Jasper. "You ruined everything." She hissed and walked off.

"I saved you! You're welcome." Jasper remarked sarcastically as he followed O inside.

"Well, if we weren't at war already, we sure as hell are now." Finn concluded his little hissy fit. He looked at Clarke. "You didn't have to trust the Grounders. You just had to trust me." He walked inside the camp with Raven following him.

Clarke sighed, clearly aggravated. "I need to lie down." She muttered, leaving Bellamy and me alone.

"Well, that could have gone better." I commented.

Bellamy's arms wrapped around me. "Are you okay? She didn't get you, did she?"

I smiled up at him wearily. "No, thanks to you."

He smiled back at me and leaned down, capturing my lips in a kiss. However, we were interrupted by a loud noise coming from above us. We pulled apart and looked up. It was the Exodus ship. "The Exodus ship? Your dad's early."

I frowned when I noticed the speed it was descending at. "Why haven't the parachutes come out yet? Bellamy, something's wrong." I said. I gasped when the Exodus ship impacted with the ground, followed by an incredibly loud explosion and an enormous cloud of smoke filled the air. "No, Dad!" I screamed as my legs gave out. Bellamy's arms caught and gently guided me to the floor. He cradled me against his chest as I let out loud sobs. He was dead. My father was dead.


	10. I am Become Death

**Hey guys! So, from now on updates won't be as frequent as I start school again on Monday, but I do plan to post at least one chapter every week. Anyways, here's the next chapter and I'm sorry if there's any spelling/grammar errors, but it's 3 am right now and my computer often likes to correct me before I've even finished typing the word! Enjoy :)**

* * *

**Elena's POV**

I let out a quiet groan as I sat up, or rather tried to sit up. An arm was strewn across my waist, pinning me down. My eyes searched the area and I realised that once again I was in Bellamy's tent. However, this time he was led beside me, cuddled into my side. Just his presence made me feel calmer. I sighed quietly, thinking back to what happened last night. No, Elena, stop. Thinking about it won't help. Trying to distract myself, I turned to face Bellamy and lightly traced over his features. He looked like a little kid when he slept. Peaceful and innocent.

He stirred under my touch and his eyes fluttered open. "Hey." His voice was husky and even deeper than usual from not being used for a while.

"Hi." I whispered in reply. I sighed and sat up now that Bellamy was awake and would actually allow me to sit up. I ran my hand through my hair. "Okay, um, we need to search the site of the Exodus ship." I stood up and grabbed my jacket.

"Princess, just slow down a sec, okay? How are you feeling?" Bellamy asked, also getting up. He picked his shirt up and put it on.

I held my hand up to him, gesturing for him to stop talking about it. "Bellamy, please, I really don't wanna talk about it." He held his hands up, surrendering. "Let's just get the others and go."

"Elena, I don't think you should go."

"You think I shouldn't do a lot of things, Bell, but I do them anyway."

Bellamy groaned in response. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"Why do _you_ have to be so stubborn?" I retaliated. However, I knew that the only reason he was against this was because he was worried about me. "Look, Bell. My father is dead. Nothing I do can bring him back. I cried about it all night and now I'm done with it; I can't just keep wallowing in self pity for the rest of my life. I have to focus on how we're all going to survive Earth."

"He was your father, Princess, one night isn't enough."

"One night is all I can afford." I walked over to him and stood on the tips of my toes, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. "I'm fine. Now, can we please just go?"

* * *

The Exodus ship had created a huge crater and left behind scattered parts of not just the ship, but the bodies of those on it. The site was still slightly smokey ash was covered in grey ash. As I walked around the area, looking for anything that could help us, I noticed how Bellamy was never more than a couple of metres away from me, obviously weary of my emotions. In his hands was his a gun, poised at the ready. Raven and Finn were searching the wreckage in front of us.

"Clarke shouldn't be out here." Finn stated. As a second thought, he turned to me. "Neither should you."

I sent him a quick glare. "I've already had this conversation with Bellamy and if I didn't listen to him, why would I listen to you?" I snapped agitatedly. Raven and Finn looked taken aback by my mood, whereas Bellamy merely smirked, simply because he was pissed at Finn and relished in someone being off with him.

Raven was the first to speak up. "What she means is, their parents were on the ship. They're looking for answers. You want to help Clarke, find me the black box, hard drives, anything that will explain why this ship crashed." She stomped around, annoyed that she didn't already know the answer.

"Stay sharp. Grounder retaliation for what happened on the bridge is coming, it's just a matter of when." Bellamy called out to the group.

"Can you blame them?" Finn remarked.

Bellamy sent Finn a cold, hard glare. "No. I blame you."

I let out a sigh at the two of them. "Finn, please give it a rest. What's done is done, besides they were the ones who brought weapons into plain sight. Bellamy, Raven and Jasper were hidden away, ready to protect us should something happen. The grounders never wanted peace, they just wanted to eliminate us."

Finn stepped closer to me, riled up by my response. His glare settled on me. "You don't know that!" Okay, he's really getting on my nerves now.

"It doesn't matter anymore, Finn!" I glowered at him, my voice raised. I took a step closer to him. "It's done, we aren't getting peace with the grounders now, so let's just focus on protecting ourselves."

Bellamy quickly came in between us, pushing me behind him. "Okay, that's enough." He declared, keeping his sharp glare on Finn. "Elena's right, Finn. Why they're coming doesn't matter anymore. It's our job to be ready when they do. We're on our own now." We all looked over to Clarke when we heard he let out a groan of protest.

Raven's eyes widened as she quickly stood up and sprinted over to Clarke. "Clarke, stop!"

The blonde stopped walking towards the smell when she heard Raven's shouting. "Rocket fuel?"

Raven shook her head. "Hydrazine." She crouched down to look at the piece of drop ship Clarke had been peering at. "Highly unstable in its non-solid form. If this stuff meets fire, we're all pink mist." Grabbing a rock, she stood to her full height and yelled out "Fire in the hole!". She threw the rock at another part of the engine, which had obviously contained the same liquid as it blew up. Raven turned to face Bellamy and me. "We need to clear the area."

He nodded in return. "Okay, then." I could tell he was still slightly shocked at the explosion we had all witnessed. "We move in formation, no straggling, weapons hot. We got to get back before dark." He ordered in his leader tone.

* * *

Upon returning to camp, we got the news that someone very unwanted had showed up. Murphy. I can't believe he had the nerve to come back, neither could Bellamy. When he heard the news, Bellamy went storming off towards the drop ship, gun in hand. I literally had to run in order to keep up with his long, quick strides.

"Bellamy, don't do something stupid…like killing him straight away. We need to-" I began to warn him, but of course he was having none of that.

He cut me off, sending me a heated glare. "The only stupid thing to do would be letting him live."

"We need to know what happened." I tried to reason with him. Nope, that's not happening either.

"No, we need to get rid of him. Do you not remember what he did?"

"Of course I do, how could I forget, Bellamy? He held a knife to my throat and made Charlotte feel the need to protect me by killing herself! I'll never forgive him, but we need to know if we are in any immediate danger because of him and he's the only one who can tells that information."

Bellamy paused for a second as he sent me an apologetic look, obviously noticing the pain I felt when I spoke about Charlotte's death. "Sorry, I didn't mean to remind you."

I sent him a small smile. "It's okay. Besides, Murphy is one big walking reminder of it anyway." Bellamy placed a quick kiss on the my forehead, before gently taking my hand and leading me to the drop ship.

* * *

"Where is he?" Came the demand from the leader as soon as he entered the drop ship with me and Clarke hot on his heels. Various people were in the drop ship, pointing and looking at Murphy as if he were the main event of a show. Murphy himself was huddle in the corner of the drop ship, even more battered and bruised than the day we made him leave. Blood poured out of the many wounds he had acquired during his time away from the camp and he had gained a terrified look in his eyes at the sight of Bellamy, who was currently fuming. I was beginning to question whether it was a good idea to allow Bellamy in here, but then again, we would never have been able to keep him away. "Everyone but Connor and Derek out…" His expressive eyes, currently showing clear signs of dangerous anger, accompanied by a loud demand, warned them all to move. "Now!" Scrambling to escape the force that was Bellamy, they all quickly filed out, leaving behind Connor and Derek.

Derek glared at Murphy with distaste. "He claims he was with the Grounders."

"We caught him trying to sneak back into camp." Connor adds, very cautious of Murphy.

"I wasn't sneaking. I was running from the Grounders." Murphy spluttered out, barely able to move his mouth.

Bellamy raised a brow at his two men. "Anyone see Grounders?" He inquired. They both vigorously shook their heads. Bell shrugged, aiming his gun at Murphy. "Well, in that case-"

Finn leapt in front of him, covering the end of the gun at the same time as I called out Bellamy's name, pulling on his arm. "Hey, what the hell is wrong with you?" Finn stared at Bell with disbelief all over his face.

"We were clear what would happen if he came back."

"What did I say to you, literally not even 5 minutes ago!" I chided him through gritted teeth.

"If he was with the Grounders, then he knows things that can help us." Finn said.

Just as I said! Only, Bellamy doesn't take as well to Finn telling him what to do as he does to me. "Help us? We hanged him. We banished him, and now we're gonna kill him. Get the hell out of my way."

Clarke spoke up. "No. They're right." She walked past the three of us and over to Murphy.

"Like hell they are, Clarke."

"Bellamy, I see your point, okay? But what happened to Charlotte was as much our fault as his." She picked up his blood drenched hand and inspected it carefully. I walked over and peered over her shoulder. Yep, he was definitely tortured. "He's not lying. His fingernails were torn off. They tortured him."

Finn scoffed and glanced at Bell. "You and the grounders should compare notes."

"Finn." I said in a warning tone. "Now is not the time." Finn rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair.

"The Grounders know we're at war. What did you tell them about us?" Bellamy interrogated Murphy after shooting Finn a glare.

Murphy actually had the audacity to look smug. "Everything."

Clarke looked scared. She quickly dropped Murphy's hand and stood up ,walking out of the drop ship. Before she left, she turned to Bellamy. "Once he's better, we find out what he knows, and then he's out of here, okay?"

"What if he refuses to leave? What do we do with him then?"

Clarke's water coloured orbs flickered to Murphy. "Then we kill him." She walked out of the drop ship.

I sighed and decided to go after Clarke. I hadn't really spoken to her since before the whole parent death thing. "I'm trusting you not to kill him yet, you got that?" I clarified with Bellamy, wanting to confirm that he wasn't going to do something stupid. He gave a look of extreme reluctance, but nodded anyway. "Good."

* * *

"Clarke!" I called out, my eyes following her head of golden hair out to the outskirts of camp, away from prying eyes.

She turned immediately at the sound of my voice. "Elena!" She cried out, running into my arms. I guess she had been waiting for the chance to just let out her true feelings. "I-I…she's gone."

"I know." I whispered, stroking her hair as she let out a choked sob.

"I'm sorry, I'm being selfish. You lost your father." She apologised, looking down shamefully at the ground.

I lifted her head up to look at me. "It's okay." I said gently, understanding how lost and incredibly heart broken she felt right.

"I have no one left."

"You have me. We're sisters, always have been and always will be." I proclaimed, grabbing her hands in my own.

She nodded. squeezing my hands tightly. "You're right. I have you." She took a deep breath and exhaled. "And you have me." She added as an after thought.

"I know." I smiled at her.

* * *

I had parted ways with Clarke, she had gone to get some rest and I was on the look out for Finn. Yes, I had a few choice words for him. Luckily, he was easy to find and as soon as his eyes settled on me, I knew that he knew what was coming. I gestured for him to join me at the side of camp for a…discussion. "So, Finn." I started. He actually looked nervous. Good. "I hear that you've made some…bad decisions down here on Earth."

He sighed. "Just get to the point, Elena." Clearly, he didn't want to drag this out.

"Fine. You slept with my best friend, failing to inform her of your girlfriend, who arrived on Earth the night of your little sleepover and then you proceeded to carry on being in a relationship with said girlfriend, forgetting to mention the small detail of cheating on her." I said bluntly. "Now my Clarkieboo is sad, even more so with the recent event, and I'm thoroughly pissed off with you because _no one_ gets to hurt my sister like that without consequences."

Finn had the sense to look guilty. "I love her."

"Which one?" I asked the question that he had probably been asking himself.

"I will always love Raven, she's always been apart of my life, but…"

"You're in love with Clarke." I finished his sentence for him. He nodded. I cocked my hip and placed my hand on it, giving him a pointed look. "Yeah, well, you'd better figure everything out and fast-"

"Oh my god, Elena." He cut me off.

"What? It's rude to cut people off Finn!"

"No, Elena, it's your eyes. They're bleeding."

Now that he mentioned it, I did me something running down my face. I frowned and lifted a hand to them, trying to see what Finn was babbling on about. Sure enough, I pulled back my hand, which was now covered in blood. Great, it's not enough that I can't stop crying normally, now I'm crying blood as well? "What the hell?" I muttered to myself.

"Elena!" I heard someone frantically call my name.

I turned around and saw Connor weakly hobbling over to me, blood surround his nose and mouth. "Connor?"

Connor coughed a few times, bringing his hand up to wipe away the blood. "It won't stop."

"Elena!" I hear again. This time it was Clarke, who was sporting a look similar to mine. Raven appeared behind her, handing her a cloth. "What's happening to us?" Derek started coughing up blood in the distance as the others panicked.

"Raven, Finn, get away from us." Clarke ordered as she also watched on as Derek's nose began pleading.

Raven gave us a confused frown. "What?"

"They're the ones who brought Murphy in."

"So?" Finn said.

"So, they've had contact with Murphy as has Clarke, who has had contact with me." I answered. I began to walk over to the drop ship, furiously wiping at the blood on my face that wouldn't stop pouring out. Clarke followed after me.

* * *

We were greeted with the sight of Murphy coughing up blood. Clarke and I shared a reluctant look before walking over to him. We both crouched down in front of him.

"Murphy, hey, look at us." He weakly raised his head. "I need you to tell me exactly how you escaped from the grounders. What happened?"

Murphy shook his head. "I don't know. I woke up, and they forgot to lock my cage. There was no one there, so I took off."

"Grounders don't just forget to lock a cage." I noted, trailing my eyes over to Clarke.

Clarke gritted her teeth. understanding what I was saying. "They let him go."

The flap covering the door of the drop ship was lifted up and Bellamy came walking in. The phrase 'uh oh' springs to mind. I quickly stood up and raised a hand up to stop him from getting any closer. "Bell, stay back."

Bellamy being Bellamy completely ignored me as he saw the blood on my face. His eyes widened and gained a fiery look in them as he made a move to walk over to me. "Did he do this to you?"

"Stay back, Bellamy!" I snapped. He stopped moving, shocked at my words. "He didn't do this…well, not on purpose or directly."

"Then what the hell is this?"

My tongue darted out across my lips as I looked at him nervously. "It's biological warfare."

Clarke stood beside me. "You were waiting for the grounders to retaliate for the bridge? This is it. Murphy is the weapon."

We had now settled Connor and Derek down on the opposite side of the drop ship to Murphy. They continued to cough and splutter, but seemed to be calmer than before.

"Is this your revenge, helping the grounders kill us?" Bellamy began his interrogation, using his arm to gesture towards Clarke, the boys and I.

Clarke and I had gotten Murphy to rest against the wall. "I didn't know about this I swear."

Bellamy lost it. "Stop lying. When are they coming?"

Clarke, noticing that Bellamy was becoming increasingly frustrated, tried to get Murphy to talk. "Murphy, think, alright? What can you tell us that's useful? Did you hear anything?"

Murphy frowned and seemed rather distant all of a sudden, as if he was remembering something. "They are vicious and cruel."

"You want to see vicious?" Bellamy growled.

"Bell, that's enough." I warned him calmly as he kept coming closer to us. "This thing spreads through contact, I figured that out the hard way."

Finn came bursting through the the drop ship entrance. "I know you said to stay away, but I was worried."

Clarke's voice shook as she spoke. "Finn, you shouldn't be in here. No one should."

Finn ignored her. "What is this?" He glanced around at everyone.

"Some kind of hemorrhagic fever. We just need to contain it before-" Clarke's was cut of by Derek retching. He began to seizure and cough up blood. Clarke and I both got up, making our way over to him.

Finn reached out and grabbed Clarke. "Hey, don't touch me. You could get sick. Wash your hands. Now."

"Elena, don't go near him." Bellamy ordered, reaching out to touch me, but I avoided his touch.

"I'm already infected, it makes no difference." I crouched down beside Derek, avoiding the blood, but he became still as soon as I reached him. I quickly reached out to find a pulse. There wasn't one.

"Is he…"

I looked up at Bellamy sadly. "He's dead."

Clarke quickly jumped into action, grabbing a contained of Monty's Moonshine. "Here. Alcohol. Hold out your hand." She instructed Finn, who did as he was told.

"What do we do?" He asked.

She took moment to think. "Quarantine. Round up everyone who had contact with Murphy. Bring them here."

Bellamy glanced down at Derek's body and then over to Connor. "And everyone they had contact with?"

Letting out a stressed sigh, I turned to face him. "I see your point, Bell, but it's a start and it's better than doing nothing."

"Connor, who was with you when you found him?" Clarke asked Connor, who tried to catch his breath to talk. "Who carried him in? Think."

Connor panted and spoke weakly. "The first one there was Octavia."

Bellamy's face paled slightly as his eyes met mine. "Go. Now" I ordered, making him run to wherever Octavia was.

* * *

Clarke and I were checking people for any symptoms of the virus. I currently had O as my patient. Luckily, she wasn't showing an signs, doesn't mean she doesn't have it though. "Well, there aren't any visible signs of swelling or bleeding." I informed them, clicking off the torch.

Bellamy looked hopeful. "So you're saying she doesn't have it?"

My eyes shifted from O to Bell. "It doesn't work like that. "She may not have any symptoms yet, but they could still appear. She needs to stay here just in case."

Bellamy was quick to argue with me. "No way. Look at this place. She'll get sick just being here."

"Bell, calm down. She'll be on the third level with those who are in the same boat as her. We need to stop the spreading of this thing, it's the only way that we're going to survive it." He seemed to be more convinced. "I'll personally keep an eye on her, you know that."

Clarke smirked, walking over to us. "Think of it as a way to stop her from sneaking out again."

Octavia threw the blonde a cold glare. "Screw you, Clarke."

Ignoring their little spat, I focused on convincing Bellamy. "You'll be the first to know if her condition changes."

He sighed. "Fine." He walked out to try and control the panic outside. O began to climb up the ladder to the third level.

"Octavia, wait." Clarke called out, making the youngest Blake turn to her. "I need you to sneak out again." I really hope this doesn't end badly.

* * *

Another person had died and a couple of the boys were carrying the body out. My head was spinning and I was covered in a sheen of sweat, but I couldn't succumb to this damn virus, not when there were people who needed my help.

"Alright, show's over. Get back to your posts." Bellamy ordered everyone who had gathered around the drop ship. This listened to him and returned to what they had been doing. Bell walked over tot he drop ship, stopping by the edge to look up at me. "You got enough food in there, water?"

I gave him a small, tired smile. "Yeah." I rolled my eyes at how the Ark didn't think to send us down with even the slightest bit of medicine. "Though medicine would be incredibly helpful right now."

Bellamy grinned, glancing down at the ground and then back up at me. "I'll see what I can do." He paused for a moment. "You look pale and exhausted, Princess. You should get some rest."

"I'll rest when everyone gets better." I replied stubbornly.

He shook his head at me. "So stubborn."

I shrugged. "I learned from the best."

He chuckled. "Touché." He looked up at the drop ship. "Octavia, you okay?"

I shifted around uncomfortably, knowing that his sister wasn't in there. He began to approach the drop ship.

"Bellamy, wait. She's not here." His face lost it's soft smile and hardened immediately. "Clarke sent her to see Lincoln." He was about yell something, probably directed at Clarke, but I cut him off. "It could help us, Bell. If there's a cure, Lincoln will have it."

Bellamy's jaw clenched. "You tell your friend that if anything happens to Octavia, we are gonna have problems." He stormed off.

"Bell, wait! Bellamy!" I called out between breaths. My vision was getting blurry.

"Out of my way." He demanded, waiting for some guy to move. The guy turned around. He had blood coming out of his eyes.

"Dude, your eyes." One of the kids yelled as he and Bellamy took a step back.

"Nobody touch him!" Another kid yelled, raising his gun at him.

Bellamy pointed at the drop ship. "Get to the drop ship." The kid just looked around, dazed. "Now."

"Hey are you okay?" I heard Raven's voice ask and looked in her direction. A girl had fallen back into someone's arms, blood pouring out of her nose. She coughed up blood, which landed on the faces of the two guys in front of her.

"Oh my god. Oh my god, it's on me." Chaos ensued.

"Get away! Get back! Get back!" Multiple people had pulled out their guns and were aiming them at each other, trying to round up the sick.

Bellamy tried to quell their panicking. "Calm down!"

Finn joined him. smacking a couple of the guns to the floor. "Put that gun down. Put that gun down. Put it down!"

I jumped as three gunshots sounded from beside me. Clarke had fired them. The camp had gone completely silent as everyone looked at Clarke. "This is exactly what the grounders want. Don't you see that?" She called out.

"She's right. They don't have to kill us if we kill each other first." I added.

"They won't have to kill us if we all catch the virus. Get back in the damn drop ship!" A kid screamed at me, pointing his gun at me.

Bellamy went into automatic over protective boyfriend (if that's what we are?) mode and used the butt of the kid's gun to smack him in the face, making the kid fall back.

Bellamy looked at Clarke and me. "Not to state the obvious, but your quarantine isn't working." Clarke stared at him blankly, before falling over.

"Finn, don't touch her!" I heard Raven shout, as something blurred past me over to Clarke. My head was spinning like crazy and my vision was as blurry as ever. I don't think I can't fight it much longer. Finn and Clarke exchange a few words that I couldn't focus on, before someone came bounding into camp with an announcement. Something about there being no cure. I recognised the blurred figure as Octavia.

"-they're attacking at first light." I heard her finish. That's it, I'm done. I felt my self drop to the floor as various voices screamed my name.

* * *

I groaned and shuffled around. My eyes fluttered open when I felt a cold, wet cloth being pressed against my forehead. As my vision became clearer, I saw O peering down at me with a worried frown marring her pretty features. "O? What happened?" I was still slightly dizzy and disorientated, so my words were slightly slurred.

"You fainted. Don't worry, I'm immune so it doesn't matter if I touch you, but I had to fight to keep Bellamy from touching you." She chuckled lightly, but her tears were a dead giveaway of her of her worry.

I reached up weakly and brushed her tears away. "Don't cry, I'm okay."

"Sorry, it's just…when I saw you fall, I was so scared that you might leave us."

"It's gonna take more than some lame virus to get rid of me, Octavia Blake." I grinned up at her. She smiled back. "How's Clarke?"

"We managed to get her to rest. Murphy's feeling better and helping out those in need." My mouth dropped slightly at that news. "There isn't a cure, but the virus isn't actually supposed to kill anyone, just weaken them so the grounders can…so they can attack and kill with ease."

Pretty sure my face became deadpan. "So they can what?" I asked blandly.

"They're attacking at first light…" Oh joy.

She removed the cloth from my forehead and I held back a whine of protest, missing its coolness. We both turned our herds when we heard someone wheezing and watched as two guys carried someone in. O and I both gasped when we realised who it was. "Bell? No."

I sat up as quickly as I could, alert due to the panic of seeing Bellamy like this, and moved over to the side of the makeshift bed I was on. "Lay him down here." They placed him beside me, on his back, as he brought up blood. "Help me get him on his side!" I ordered as I pushed him with the help of O, so that he could cough up the blood. We patted his back, making sure it had all been coughed up. He was gasping for air, looking around with tears in his eyes, obviously scared for his life. He was in a bad state, but for now he was okay. I leaned back on my hands, trying to catch my breath and closed my eyes in an attempt to tame this frustrating dizziness.

"Hey, big brother." O said, it sounded slightly strangled, which I'm sure was due to her holding back a terrified sob.

"I'm scared." I heard Bell whisper.

"I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

"That's what I said to you the day you were born."

"I know. You told me that, like, a thousand times."

"I'm glad you're here."

I heard a small sigh leave O's lips. "I have to go and help the others, but Elena is right beside you. She's awake and she's just fine. So, try to get some rest now, okay?" O told him. I heard a shuffle of clothing and then footsteps shortly after, signalling her departure.

"Princess?" I heard Bellamy say from beside me. His voice sounded so vulnerable and it scared me because he was the one person I had always known to be so strong.

I took a deep breath, bracing myself, and opened my eyes. Fighting back the fun little spinning session my head was having right now, I got onto my knees and hovered over Bellamy, giving him a small smile. Tears filled my vision as I saw he sickly he looked with his now pale skin covered in blood and sweat. "Hi." I whispered.

He lifted up a hand, wanting me to place mine in it. I complied and used my free hand to stroke his hair soothingly. "I was so scared that I'd lose you."

I shook my head at him. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise." His hand tightened around mine. "I'm going to stay right by your side. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." I used my free hand to gently stroke my fingers over his cheek as I leaned down and kissed his forehead. I sat back up and settled my hand on his cheek again, using the pad of my thumb to continuously stroke his skin, hoping to offer him some form of comfort.

"I love you, Elena." I heard him confess quietly.

My jaw dropped slightly, before closing again. My lips settled into a smile and my tears spilled over onto my cheeks. "I love you too, no matter how much you get on my nerves." I replied, my voice thick from all of the emotion that had built up within me.

He let out a breathy laugh and leaned into my touch. "You have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say that."

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Now, get some rest, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

Some time had passed since I had woken up and I was feeling much better. The dizziness had faded and I was left with a slight fever. Nothing I couldn't handle. Once Bellamy had fallen asleep, I had set about helping the others who had it worse than me. I had been informed that Raven had made a bomb to blow up the bridge in order to slow the grounders down, giving us more time to prepare, and that Finn was setting it up, while Jasper took the shot. Bell had originally been the one who was taking it, but he fell ill. I walked over to the blonde who was currently climbing out of the hammock that had been previously occupied by Murphy. "Hey, you. How you feeling?" I asked Clarke, placing my hand on her forehead. Her temperature was almost normal, like mine.

"Much better, you?" She answered.

"Same. Help me look after the others?"

"Was already planning on it." She glanced behind me. "Is that Bellamy?"

"Yeah. O and I have already taken care of him, he's just resting."

"Okay, good." She began to walk over to one of the others when I stopped her.

"I'm glad you're okay." I grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.

Clarke smiled at me and returned my squeeze. "You too."

* * *

I looked over at Bellamy, as I had been doing every now and then to make sure he was okay, and found him sitting up. Murphy had gone over to give him some water - we all needed to stay hydrated - but Bellamy pushed him away. I'm pretty sure he was threatening Murphy.

I quickly made my way over to the two of them. "Murphy, I'll take care of him." Murphy looked up at me and nodded, passing me the cup of water and walking away. I crouched down in front of Bellamy and grazed my free hand over the side of his face as he watched me carefully, running his eyes over my face. "Drink, you need to stay hydrated." I passed him the cup, just like Murphy had, but this time he accepted it. I took a seat beside him and he turned towards me.

He took a sip of the water, before speaking up. "How are you feeling?" He took my hand in his own.

I lifted my other hand to idly play with his fingers as I answered him. "Better, practically healed." Spying a cloth in a bowl of water, I pulled my hands away from Bellamy's and grabbed the bowl, ringing out the cloth as he answered me.

"Good. Where's O?" He asked as I reached up and began to wipe the blood off of his face.

"I think she was up all night helping people. Murphy gave her a break." Bellamy gave me a suspicious look. "What is it?" I asked, putting the cloth down now that he face was clean…well, cleaner.

"Don't tell me you trust him now."

"Hell no." He chuckled slightly at that. "But, he's been pretty good since he's been back. Maybe he's changed, maybe we should give him a second chance."

Bellamy looked away. "It's almost dawn. Better get everyone inside. If we lock the doors, maybe the grounders will think we're not home."

I shook my head. "Some people haven't caught the virus. We can't risk them getting sick!" I protested.

He sighed and placed his hand on my knee, squeezing it lightly. "Sick is better than dead, Princess."

"But Finn and Jasper are…you don't think they can pull it off."

"You don't think Finn and Jasper are gonna pull it off."

Bell raised his eyebrows at me. "Do you?"

He was right. I could have all the faith in the world in them, doesn't mean it will work. "You're right. We can't risk it. Clark and I will get everyone inside."

* * *

Bellamy had insisted on helping us make sure everyone was inside, so I allowed him to on the condition that he stayed by me where I could keep an eye on him. He wasn't completely better yet. We were stood to the side of the drop ship entrance, next to Clarke, watching as everyone piled in. He had an arm wrapped around me, while he held a gun in his free hand. Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard in the distance, followed by a huge cloud of grey some. Everyone turned to look at it.

"They did it." Bellamy muttered beside me.

"I am become death, destroyer of worlds." Clarke murmured. Bellamy looked at her, which made Clarke inform him who Oppenheimer was. "It's Oppenheimer, the man who built the first-"

"I know who Oppenheimer is." He cut her off, making her smirk.

* * *

"There! It's them, open the gate!" Harper screamed excitedly. Everyone cheered as Monty and Jasper walked into the camp. Finn followed shortly after, helping Raven walk. She had the virus.

"I've got this." Clarke said, following them inside of the drop ship.

* * *

It was now dark out and we were safe from harm for one day. I stood in front of the 14 graves of the people who we couldn't saved. For a virus that wasn't meant to kill, it sure did a good job of it. Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair.

"After all we've been through today, you still chose to be outside the walls with no gun?" Bellamy's voice said from beside me. I didn't reply. "We need to talk about Murphy."

I chose to avoid that topic for now. "Can we just take a minute to appreciate the fact that we're both still alive, please?"

I heard him sigh and adjust the strap of his gun so that it rested on his back. "C'mere, Princess." He beckoned me, opening his arms up. I launched myself into them, wrapping my arms around his neck tightly. "You're right. We need to appreciate rare moments like these." I heard him say into my hair. I pulled back slightly and pressed my lips to his. His hold on my waist tightened as one hand came up to tangle itself in my hair. Pulling away from me, he rested his forehead against mine. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"It's about time." A voice said suddenly, making our heads snap towards it. O smiled sheepishly at us. "Hi. I'm interrupting, aren't I?" I guess she probably wanted to see Bellamy now that he was healthy again. "I'll just see you both later." She turned to leave, but I didn't want that.

"No, wait!" I called out. "Come here." She walked over to us and I pulled her into my arms. "I'm so relieved that you were immune to the virus." I felt her hug back.

"Me too." I heard Bellamy agree as he moved to wrap his arms around both of us. I felt one of O's arms leave my waist to hug Bellamy back as I did the same.

"And I'm glad that I still have my family." O whispered, burying her face into mine and Bellamy's shoulders.


	11. The Calm

**Elena's POV**

I stood side by side with Clarke, just outside of camp. We were helping keep an eye out for the grounders. "All this waiting around is driving me crazy."

Clarke nodded in agreement. "Me too, but what else can we do other than be prepared?" I shrugged, not having an answer for her.

"First watch is over. Go relieve Monroe on the south wall. Keep your eyes open." I heard the deep, authoritative voice of Bellamy say. Footsteps ran towards us and it wasn't long before a kiss was placed on the top of my head and an arm wrapped itself securely around my waist. "Anything?"

I let out a sigh and peered up at my boyfriend. Wow, that feels weird to say. A good weird. "No, and it's getting on our nerves."

"It's been two days." Clarke started, making us focus on her. "Maybe the bomb at the bridge scared them off for good."

Bellamy raise a brow at her. "You believe that?"

"No." Then why say it? "They're coming."

"Jasper thinks he can cook up some more gunpowder if he gets some sulphur," Bellamy informed us as we began making our way back into camp, "and Raven says she can turn that into land mines. So, be careful where you step." He jested.

"You're hilarious"

"Ha, funny." Came our dry responses, making him smirk at us.

"What I really need is a thousand more of her tin can bombs I can roll them into their village and blow those grounders to Hell." Clarke looked so disturbed at Bellamy's words it was amusing. Bellamy caught her look and quickly defended himself. "That's what they want to do to us." She looked at me for help.

I merely shrugged my shoulders at her. "It is true."

She shook her head. "Can't believe we survived a hundred years just so we could slaughter each other. There has to be another way."

"I don't think there is, Clarke." I told her the sad truth.

"Any word from the Ark?" Bellamy asked.

We shook our heads at him. "Radio silence."

"Finally ran out of air."

"Maybe our parents were lucky being on the Exodus ship." Clarke contemplated. I frowned at her. Why would she say that? "At least it was quick." She explained when she saw my expression.

"I guess…" I responded quietly. "No one's coming to save us anymore. We really are on our own now." Bellamy sighed and pressed his lips to my temple.

"Whoa! Guys! Fire!" We heard someone shout from inside camp. Bellamy and I exchanged glances before running into camp. The only fire going was in the meat house where O had been cooking the food. We saw her covering her mouth, coughing from all the smoke, only just making it out before it got crazy.

Bellamy wrapped an arm around her and guided her away from it. "Are you okay?" She simply coughed and nodded as a reply.

"This is all your fault!" Murphy threw an accusation at Del. "We told you it was too much wood." He began punching the kid, who protested and told him to stay away. I took Bell's spot beside O as he went to break up the fight. O leaned on me slightly as I wrapped my arms around her.

"Hey! Hey! Hey, stop!" Bellamy shoved Murphy off of Del. "Save it for the grounders."

"Bell, now what the hell are we gonna do? That was all the food." O shouted from beside me. Clarke, Bellamy and I shared wearied looks, before turning back to the blazing fire.

* * *

The fire was finally out and Bellamy was crouched down beside the remains, inspecting it. Walking up behind him, I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do we know what happened?"

He looked up at me. "Murphy says that Del kept feeding the fire, mostly because Octavia told him it was a bad idea."

I smirked at what I heard. "Oh, so you believe Murphy, huh?"

Bell rolled his eyes at me and stood up. "I do, yeah. You can wipe that smug grin off of your face now."

I smiled innocently at him. "Sorry, sorry. Look, we have some onions and nuts in the drop ship, but only enough to last about a week or two. Is there anything that hasn't been completely burned to a crisp?"

"Nothing. It all burned."

"Then we have no choice but to hunt."

Bellamy didn't like that idea. "Princess, there's a whole grounder army out there."

"We can't defend ourselves if we're starving, Bell. Every group will have at least one gun and various other weapons." I took his face in my hands and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "We really don't have much of a choice."

* * *

"Each group takes someone with a gun, but they're for killing grounders, not food. We don't have the ammo. Use the spears for hunting. Get what you can. Be back by nightfall. No one stays out after dark." Bellamy announced to the groups as everyone collected up some gear. He turned to me and tapped my nose with his finger. "You're with me." I pretended to be disgusted at the thought, making him chuckle. "Come on, we need to get some more ammo from Raven and then we're out of here."

"Okay, lead the way."

* * *

"We need more ammo." Bellamy demanded as we entered the, well, I guess we could call it our very own science lab.

I smacked his arm lightly. "Don't be rude."

Raven quickly grabbed about 4 bullets and gave them to Bellamy. "That's it until Jasper gets back. Now get out of my tent." She turned back around and began packing a bag.

"Where are you planning on going that requires that much stuff?" I asked curiously peeking at her bag.

"The hell out of here."

"No way. You're not leaving." Bellamy said, shaking his head at her.

"Really? And what makes you think you can tell me what to do? Aren't you a janitor?" Raven snapped at him. Damn, she's feisty.

"Where you gonna go?"

Raven sniffled, she looked like she was trying not to cry. Whether it was tears of anger or sadness, I have no idea. "Into these damn woods. Don't worry about it. I'll find someplace safe."

She went to leave, but Bellamy grabbed her arm before she could. "Just wait, don't be an idiot. You go alone and you're dead or worse."

Raven glared coldly at him. "So what's your plan, sit here until you run out of bullets?"

Bellamy scoffed. "Yeah. Or until you come up with something better. Come on, Raven. You came down here in a pod you rebuilt yourself. You made a bomb out of a tin can. What else you got in that head of yours?"

"He has a point, you've got a good head on those shoulders." I commentated, making her look at me with a shocked look. It reminded me of the look she gave me when I held her hand to comfort her when Finn had that knife in him.

Raven suddenly looked like she had been hit with a good idea. "Radios. We can't defend ourselves if we can't communicate. If we can build radios, walkie-talkies-"

"Then we can fight as a team." Bellamy finished her sentence. She looked kind of awestruck. "We'd have a chance, at least. See? We need you." He grinned at her. "You may be a huge pain in the ass, but you're smart."

* * *

Luckily for us, the few hunting groups had been super successful and we now had some meat to cook. There was one group still missing though. Clarke's group. It was dark and we had agreed to be back by now, Clarke wouldn't stay out after dark, which had me worried sick. I had to tell Bellamy so we can go after them. I can't lose Clarke, she's too important to me. I jogged over to Bellamy's tent, where he had gone to get some rest after I had lectured him about how he wasn't superhuman and still needed sleep. Pushing the entrance flap aside, I made my way in. "Hey, Bell, I thi-" I cut myself off. My eyes widened when they saw what was going on. "What the hell is going on here?" I shrieked upon seeing Raven standing in front of Bellamy. In her underwear. They've got some explaining to do. Raven had the decency to look surprised and then embarrassed as Bellamy paled. "Well?" I snapped, waiting for an answer.

"Elena, this isn't-" Bellamy began, but I told him to shut up by raising a hand at him and settled a cold glare on Raven.

"What, your boyfriend's in love with some else, so you think you can just take mine?" I hissed.

Raven flinched at my harsh words, but then paled as well. "Wait, you two are dating? Oh my god, Elena, I'm so sorry! I didn't realise you two were together, I just wanted to move on."

My face softened as I realised she had merely made a mistake. I ran a hand over my face and sighed. "Can you please just get out of here?" She nodded, gathering up her clothes and throwing them on, making her way out of the tent as quickly as she could. I rounded my glare on Bellamy and stepped towards him. "I swear, if you initiated _anything_…"

Bellamy frantically shook his head at me and placed his hands either side of my face. "No, I didn't. All I did was walk in and she was in here. Princess, you have to believe me." He rested his forehead on mine. "The only person I want is _you. _I love you, Elena." His breath spilled over my lips as he said the words that were like music to my ears.

I let out a breathy laugh and wrapped my arms around his neck. "And you say trouble attracts me." He chuckled as he leaned forward to press his lips to mine. As our lips moulded together, perfectly in sync, I silently wondered if I'll ever get over the feeling of euphoria that kissing Bellamy brings. Probably not. I felt his hands push my jacket away from my shoulders and down my arms, causing me to shrug it off and throw it somewhere behind me. Next, his hands slipped under the sides of my shirt, running themselves over my sides, slowly lifting my shirt up. My lips left his so I could slip my shirt over my head, tossing it over to the side. Bellamy's lips connected with mine once again, however, it was shortly lived. Instead, they trailed themselves across my jaw line and down my neck, sucking and biting my skin along the way. I let out a small gasp and moaned quietly when he found my sweet spot, which of course made him spend extra time there, making sure to leave a sizeable lovebite. My hands quickly made use of themselves, tugging at the hem of his shirt, before lifting it up. His lips left my neck as he pulled back and took his shirt off, leaving me to marvel as his well-built chest. I bit my lip out of anticipation.

He smirked at my staring. "See something you like, Princess?" His tone was ridiculously smug, making me roll my eyes at him. He hooked his fingers onto the belt loops of my jeans and pulled me into him, causing my to place the palms on my hands on his chest to catch myself.

"Shut up and kiss me, Blake." I demanded, after all, I am a princess and princesses always get what they want.

Of course, because this is Bellamy, he had to have the last word. "As you wish." He kissed me again, biting at my bottom lip. I gasped and he took the chance to deepen the kiss. His hands gave my hips a squeeze, before the travelled to the backs of my thighs and lifted me up. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I entangled one of my hand in his hair and used the other to lightly drag my nails across his chest, gaining an involuntary shiver from Bellamy. He walked us over to his bed and carefully led me down on the bed, hovering over me. He trailed his lips down my neck, to my chest and eventually down my stomach. "You sure you want this?" He asked between kisses.

"I'm sure." I answered. And I was.

* * *

We led side by side, breathless. I pulled the covers over my chest, suddenly feeling very shy.

Bellamy turned on his side to face me and grinned when he noticed what I was doing. He traced his finger along my collarbone, over my shoulder, down my arm and finally connected our hands. Bringing my hand towards his lips, he pressed a kiss to the back of it. "That was amazing."

I smiled up at him. "I know." He chuckled and gave me a short, sweet kiss. "We should really go and see how Monty and Raven are getting on." I whispered against his lips.

He groaned. "I don't want to."

I laughed at him and placed a kiss on his nose. "We have to."

* * *

After getting dressed, we headed out of the tent. O came up to me with a worked look on her face. "What is it?" I asked.

"Clarke, Finn and Myles still aren't back yet." Oh my god, I can't believe I let myself get so totally distracted that I completely forgot about them.

Bellamy must have seen my distraught expression and mistaken it for panic. Not that I wasn't panicking, I just felt awful for getting caught up in a moment and forgetting about my earlier worries. "Don't worry, we'll go and look for them."

Monty, who had been walking past us, spoke up. "The walkie-talkies are done, we can take them with us so we know what's going on at all times."

Bell nodded. "Okay, good. Go and get them." Monty ran off to the drop ship, which I assume is where the walkie talkies are.

"What if something's happened to them?" I was slowly starting to build up images of worst case scenarios in my head, getting myself more and more worked up.

O grabbed my shoulders and this time it was her who comforted me. "It will be okay. They probably just got lost and didn't want to keep walking in the dark."

"Clarke doesn't just 'get lost', O."

"We've got the walkie talkies, let's go!" Raven called out to us, interrupting mine and O's conversation. I guess she's coming along as well, though I'm not surprised since Finn is out there.

* * *

The sky was pitch black and the only light source we had was the moon. Bellamy and I had paired up, while O went with Raven, and Monty chose to go alone, something that I was hesitant about, but he convinced me that he'd be fine because he had the walkie-talkie and a gun. The search had been going on for about an hour now and we were having absolutely no luck.

"I thought you said you were heading west. Where are you?" Monty's voice sounded through the walkie-talkie in Bellamy's hand.

Bellamy lifted the device up to his mouth and spoke into it. "Just keep the moon to your left, and you'll find us."

I clutched the gun tightly as the paranoia I felt increased with every minute that passed. "Something bad has happened, I can just tell."

Bellamy looked back at me. "I thought you were the more optimistic one out of the two of us." I shot him a warning glare, to which he merely put his hands up, surrendering. "Calm down, Sweetheart. We'll find them."

"Is anyone else hearing this signal?" Monty asked through the walkie-talkie.

"Just keep your eyes open." Raven replied.

"I think it's the same thing we heard in the black box."

I could tell Bellamy was getting frustrated by Monty's lack of focus. "Damn it, Monty, pay attention. Do you see anything?" Silence. "Report." He didn't reply.

I quickly grabbed the walkie-talkie from Bellamy. "Monty, can you here me?"

"There's someone in the bushes." Raven's voice said calmly after a moment of silence. Bellamy and I turned in the direction of the same rustling noise that Raven heard and slowly approached it, meeting up with O and Raven along the way.

O pushed the bushes away the bushes to reveal… "Myles?" He merely groaned in response, he had been stabbed in the chest. I jumped into action, crouching down beside him and applying pressure to his wound.

"Myles, what happened? Where are they? Clarke and Finn, where are they?" Raven fired questions at him.

"Raven, enough!" I barked. "I know you're worried about Finn, I'm worried about Clarke as well, but we need to get him back to camp, so I can try to heal him."

"Grounders took them." Myles choked out.

"Hey, take it easy." Bellamy said to him calmly. "Let's get going."

O looked at me and her brother in shock. ""You guys, what about Clarke and Finn?"

"It pains me to say it, but as we are, we can't do much about that right now." I answered solemnly. "We'll go back to camp, see to Myles' injury and regroup. I'm not letting Clarke and Finn die." Raven and O voiced their agreement as Bellamy remained silent. "Okay, we need to make a stretcher."

"Monty, we're heading home. You copy?" Bellamy spoke into the walkie-talkie. There was mo reply. "Monty, can you hear me?" Silence. "Monty, Monty where the hell are you? Report." We all shared looks of worry. I knew we shouldn't have let him go alone.

* * *

**I'm sorry, but I'm not good with writing smut, so that is literally the most and best you're gonna get out of me, but feel free to write your own! Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed the chapter. I'll see you for the next one :)**


	12. We Are Grounders (Part 1)

**Elena's POV**

We got back to camp as quickly as we could. "We have to go out after Finn, Clarke and Monty first thing in the morning." I heard Raven say.

Bellamy shook his head at her, giving her a stern look. "No, no one else is leaving the camp." He quickened his pace and walked on ahead of us.

"Elena…" Raven pleaded, looking at me with a sad expression on her face.

"I'll talk to him later, but Myles is our key focus as of right now." I saw Raven frown at me for saying that. "We can't do anything useful about their situation until it's light out." I added quickly and she sighed and nodded.

* * *

Bellamy carried Myles into the drop ship and set him down on the hammock. I quickly grabbed a knife and cut of Myles' shirt so that I could clean the wound. "I need clean water and a cloth." I stated, checking to see how bad his wound was. I heard the scuff of shoes walking out of the drop ship and knew Bellamy had gone to get what I needed. Luckily for Myles, the wound was something I could easily fix.

"Here you go." I heard a voice say behind me. It wasn't Bellamy. I looked behind me and saw Jasper hovering beside me, peering down at Myles.

I sent him a small smile and took the water and cloth. "Thanks, Jasp." I wetted the cloth and began gently cleaning the wound, emitting groans of pain from Myles.

"Anything I can help with?" Jasper asked.

"You can find me something to use as a bandage."

He clicked his tongue and pointed at me. "You got it." I chuckled a little at his antics.

* * *

Myles was now seen to and was resting peacefully. Jasper had stayed with me the entire time, asking me all sorts of questions about medicine and what the most ridiculous types of surgery one could have were. He's definitely an odd one. He was about to ask what I'm sure was another ridiculous question, when a gunshot rang out. Our eyes widened and we rushed out of the drop ship to see what was happening. We made it out there in time for one of Bell's infamous speeches.

"The bomb on the bridge bought us some time to prepare, but that time is up! The grounders are out there right now, waiting for us to leave and picking us off one by one when we do!" Bellamy yelled as he looked at the crowd. He seemed frantic, terrified even, and the fact that _Bellamy_ looked like this scared me. "Clarke, Finn, and Monty are gone, probably dead, and if you want to be next, I can't stop you, but no guns are leaving this camp! This camp is the only thing keeping us alive! Get back to work!" He then stormed off.

Placing my hand on Jasper's shoulder, I leaned towards him and spoke quietly. "I need to talk to Bellamy, keep an eye on Myles, okay?" Jasper's lips trembled, visibly shaken up due to Bellamy's belief about Clarke, Finn and Monty's fate. "Jasper, it's going to be okay. We'll find them." He looked up at me with hope filled in his eyes, it was a look that I could only compare to the look of an innocent child. "I promise." I whispered quietly, though I regretted it almost immediately. Was I making a promise that I couldn't keep? He nodded at me and walked back into the drop ship.

* * *

I found Bellamy in a more secluded area of camp. He punched a tree with his fist, letting out a frustrated grunt. Running up to him, I grabbed his fist in an attempt to keep him from hitting the tree again. "Bellamy, stop it!"

Bellamy turned to me, dark eyes still frantic. "They're gone. We've lost three of our best people. They're not coming back."

I shook my head at him and smiled. "You don't know that for sure." A determined look appeared on my face. "I'm going to look for them in the morning."

"Like hell you are." He growled at me.

I simply ignored his comment and continued speaking. "And if you don't want any guns leaving this camp, then fine. I'll take my knife and pray that the grounders don't kill me before I'm close enough to kill them." I knew this was kind of like emotional blackmail, but I was desperate. This wasn't about just Clarke and Finn anymore, Monty had disappeared and he was _alone_, at least Clarke and Finn had each other. "You can't stop me from going, Bellamy. You know that."

"Yes, I can and I will. I'll lock you in the drop ship if I have to." Bellamy said threateningly. I knew he was seriously considering it.

"Bell, stop. This isn't about us protecting each other, it's about protecting our people. You're doing your job by preparing for when the grounders come, let me do my job by trying to save our people."

Bellamy's eyes bore into mine, hopefully contemplating what I was saying. "I am protecting our people and there is no way in hell that I am letting you leave this camp."

My jaw slackened due to the disbelief I felt. "Are you serious?"

"Look, you think I don't want to go after them as well? Because I do, Elena, I really do. But if we go past these walls, we're dead as well."

My eyes watered as I responded. "They're not dead!" My voiced had raised to a shout.

His eyes softened at the sight of my tears as he tried to pull me into his arms. "Elena-"

"No!" I quickly pulled myself away from him. "You know, you wouldn't be acting this way if it were Octavia or me out there, in fact you didn't act this way. No, you got a whole search party together and came looking for us. Finn was apart of that group, don't forget that." I left him with that thought as I started heading back towards the drop ship. Well, I was going back until another voice resumed the conversation.

"If it was you out there, you think Monty, Clarke, or Finn would hide behind these walls?" Jasper appeared in front of me, glaring at Bellamy. I guess he heard our conversation.

Bell shook his head. "No, they'd go after me. Then they'd be dead, too. I am doing what I think is right for the group." Jasper scoffed and began marching off.

"Where are you going?" Bellamy shouted at him.

Jasper turned around and mock saluted him. "More gunpowder for your minefield, Sir." He said sarcastically and left again.

I ran a hand through my hair and gave Bellamy a 'nicely done' look before following Jasper. He was quick, I'll give him that. He had completely vanished from my sight before I could say anything to him. I assumed he had gone to up to the higher levels of the drop ship to collect some more gun powder, so I made my way into the drop ship.

* * *

"Say hi to Colin for me." Was the murmur that greeted me when I entered the drop ship, accompanied by muffled screaming. My eyes widened as I saw Murphy suffocating Myles with a bag. "Murphy, stop!" I screamed, running over to rip his hands away from the bag, but it was too late. Myles was already dead. Tears sprang to my eyes as my gaze flickered between Myles' body and Murphy. I swallowed nervously and glared at Murphy. "What the hell have done?"

Murphy looked frantic, almost deranged. "He tried to kill me."

I shook my head. "You're a monster." I spat. I turned to walk out of the drop ship and find Bellamy, but the click of a gun made me freeze in place.

"Don't move." Murphy ordered.

There was sound that came from above us and Jasper appeared on the ladder, climbing down slowly. He jumped down in front of me, as if trying to offer me some protection. "Murphy, put the gun down." His words were careful and calm, so as not to startle Murphy and make him shoot.

"He tried to kill me." Murphy repeated, still keeping the gun aimed at us.

I saw Jasper nod. "Okay, it's cool."

Murphy shook his head. "No, it's not. You know what'll happen to me if either of you tell Bellamy."

"Tell Bellamy what?" Came Bellamy's voice from over the walkie talkie resting in Jasper's pocket. I fought back the urge to groan. Pretty sure Jasper and I both have the same expression on our faces; 'we're screwed'. Why did Bellamy have to choose that exact moment to listen in and reply?

Murphy's eyes trailed down to the radio as his glare intensified. "Give me the radio, Jasper."

Jasper slowly reached for the radio, but instead of giving it straight to Murphy he brought it up to his lips. "Murphy has a gun. He killed Myles." His words were rushed as Murphy lunged at him and smashed the gun into his face.

"Jasper!" I called out, reaching to catch him and lower him gently to floor.

"Murphy, what the hell are you doing?" Bellamy's voice sounded from he radio again. Murphy darted over to the door and pulled the lever to shut it.

I gently set Jasper down and ran over to try and stop him. "Bellamy!" I shouted, praying that he could hear me and would help us out.

"Shut up, you bitch!" Murphy snarled at me, bring the back of the gun up to hit the side of my head. The force knocked me back so that I was now on the floor next to Jasper, clutching my head the side of my head, which was now covered in blood.

Jasper got on his knees and moved closer to me, pulling my hand from my head to inspect the damage. "You okay?" He asked quietly.

"I've had better days." I muttered bitterly.

The door creaked as it began to shut and before it completely closed, I heard Bellamy's voice. "Murphy! Murphy! Open the damn door!"

"You try to be a hero, Jasper and Elena die." Murphy yelled in response.

* * *

We had been in here for a few hours now, nobody saying anything. Jasper and I had thought it best to remain silent and Bellamy had given up shouting a while ago, probably trying to figure out a way to get us out of here safely with Raven. Murphy still clutched the gun tightly, ready to shoot if we made a wrong move. Luckily, my head had stopped bleeding and I was only left with a dull ache. Jasper and I had propped ourselves up against one of the walls as We all jumped slightly when a scream interrupted the heavy silence "Murphy! Murphy, if you even touch Jasper and Elena, I swear to God, you're dead." It was Octavia. After hours of silence, I welcomed the sound of her voice.

"Murphy, I know you can hear me." Bellamy's voice erupted from the walkie talkie. Another voice I welcomed. "All our ammo and food is in the middle level. You know that. You're leaving us vulnerable to an attack. I can't let that happen."

Murphy walked over to the device and picked it up, bringing up to his lips as he covered Myles' body. "Yeah, well, in case you haven't noticed, you're not exactly in control right now." He turned to us with a smirk on his face. I looked away, disgusted by him, and buried my face into Jasper's shoulder. Jasper reached out and grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Come on, Murphy. You don't want to hurt Elena and Jasper. You want to hurt me." Bellamy taunted. "So what do you say? How about you trade them for me?" I stiffened at Bellamy's proposition. I straightened up and shook my head, whimpering out a soft 'no'. "All you have to do is let them go, and I'll take their place."

"How?"

After a moment of quietness, Bellamy spoke up. "Simple. You open the door, I walk in, they walk out."

Murphy tapped the walkie talkie while he thought about the offer and finally walked over to the lever and opened the door. "Just you, Bellamy, unarmed. Ten seconds or the next bullet goes through your precious Elena's heart! 1!" Murphy yelled out, aiming the gun at me. Jasper tensed up, but I just squeezed his hand, knowing that Bellamy would never let me die. "2, 3, 4." His counting was getting quicker, but I still remained calm. "5."

"I'm here!" I heard Bellamy's voice from behind the parachute. He walked in, his gaze almost immediately meeting mine as I saw relief wash over his face. Jasper and I got up and walked over to him when Murphy shoved Jasper of out the drop ship and grabbed my wrist, tugging me back towards him.

Bellamy's jaw clenched as he stepped forward. "Hey, the hell do you think you're doing? You said you'd let them go."

"Jasper's free, but I never said I'd let _both_ of them go. Did you really think I'd let your biggest weakness walk out of here?" I could just picture the arrogant look on Murphy's face. I struggled against him as he pulled me over to the ladder, grabbing one of the odd seat belts on his way. Bellamy didn't dare move as Murphy still held a gun in his hand. He quickly tied my hands to the ladder, making sure it was too tight for me to escape. "There, now that you've been dealt with, it's your boyfriend's turn."

"Murphy, please stop." I begged. "You don't have to do this." I couldn't stand the thought of watching him hurt Bellamy.

"Why would I stop? I'm a monster, that is what you called me, isn't it?" Murphy sneered at me.

"Murphy, that's enough. Do whatever you want to do to me, but let her go, please." Bellamy pleaded desperately.

"What? No, I'm not leaving you!" I protested. Was he crazy? Did he really think I was going to leave him? Bellamy shot me a disapproving 'shut up' look, but I stubbornly shook my head at him.

Murphy grinned. "How tragically sweet, the lovers would do anything to save each other, but they'll both still end up dead." I've never wanted to punch someone in the face more than I do right now.

"Murphy-" Bellamy tried again, but was cut off by Murphy shooting at the ground by his feet.

"Stop talking, otherwise I will shoot Elena." Murphy threatened. Bellamy stayed quiet. "Good. Now do exactly as I say." He looked at the pile of seat belts. "Tie those together."

"Bellamy?" Octavia's worried voice came from the walkie talkie, obviously having heard the gunshot. Murphy slowly bent down and grabbed the walkie talkie. "Bellamy! Are you guys okay?"

"You want her to know you're alive?" Murphy aimed the gun at Bellamy. "Start tying."

"Bellamy! Do you copy?" Octavia asked.

"We're fine. It was just a misfire. Now stop worrying about us and get back to work, all of you, and tell Raven to hurry her ass up." They had a plan.

Murphy shut the walkie talkie off. "Alright, that's long enough. Tie those two ends together." My eyes widened as I realised what he was going to make Bellamy do. "Now get up and toss it over." Murphy cocked his head towards a bar on the roof, but aimed his gun at me.

Bellamy glanced at me as I shook my head frantically and stood up, throwing it over the bar. He turned back to Murphy, who smirked at him, and glared at him. "What do you want me to say? You want me to apologise? I'm-" He stepped forward, but Murphy quickly aimed the gun at him. "I'm sorry."

Murphy snickered at Bellamy's apology. "You got it all wrong, Bellamy. I don't want you to say anything." He declared. "I want you to feel what I felt, and then I want you to die as your precious princess watches, before she too dies." Bellamy growled as Murphy finished his sentence. Murphy made Bell bring a stool under the noose. "Stand on it." He ordered. Bellamy reluctantly obeyed. "Put it over your head."

Bellamy made no move to do so. "This is insane. The grounders could-" A bullet whizzed past me and into the wall, making me gasp and lurch to the side. "Elena!"

"I-I'm okay." My voice was shaking, hell, my whole body was shaking.

Murphy had truly gone insane. "Put it over your head."

Bellamy quickly did as he said. "Happy now?" He sneered. Murphy pulled on the seat belts, lifting Bellamy slightly off of the stool. Fortunately, Bell's hands weren't tied up, so he lodged one in between the rope and his neck and held the part that Murphy was pulling on. I tried to pull apart the seat belt that bounded my wrists together in an attempt to loosen it, but I wasn't strong enough.

During this time, Murphy thought it would be a good time to open his big mouth again. Whatever Raven's doing, she'd better do it quickly.

"You're so brave, aren't you? Isn't he brave, Elena?" Murphy said to me, patronisingly. He grinned at me when he saw me leering at him and then faced Bellamy again. "I mean, you came in here thinking you're just gonna turn this whole thing around, that you were stronger than me, and maybe one of your friends would come and help you." He pulled on the rope slightly as he walked towards Bellamy. "Well, what are you thinking now, Bellamy? Hmm?" Another tug on the rope pulled Bellamy higher up into, making stand on the tips of his toes in an attempt to keep him from choking. He struggled against the ropes. Murphy approached me and tied the rope to the ladder. Clutching the gun tightly, he started pacing in front of Bellamy, laughing bitterly to himself. "You know, I've got to hand it to you, Bellamy. You've got them all fooled. They actually look up to you, almost as much as they look up to Elena and Clarke. Yeah, well, we know the truth, don't we? You're a coward. I learned that the day you kicked out the crate from beneath me." Bellamy watched him closely. "Isn't that what you said? That you were just giving the people what they wanted, right?"

Bellamy's eyes filled with regret. "I should have stopped them." He said sadly.

"Yeah, it's a little late for that now."

"You think they're just gonna let you walk out of here?" Bellamy asked.

"He's right. Killing us won't be enough for you to gain power, so you may as well just give up." I added.

Murphy nonchalantly scratched the top of his head with a twisted smile. "As if I'd do that. I think Clarke's dead and I know the princess and the king's about to die, so who's really gonna lead these people, huh? Me, that's who. And yeah, maybe I'll have to kill your grounder-pounding little sister-" Bellamy grunting, lifting up a leg to kick Murphy, who quickly backed away and yanked on the rope hard enough to choke Bellamy and keep him at bay. A shriek came from below us, making the three of us stare at the ground. "I'm guessing that's her right now." Murphy looked up at Bellamy, grinning, and grabbed his gun. He shot the gun several times at the vent on the ground.

"No!" Bellamy and I screamed together. Murphy's gun clicked several times because he had used up all the bullets, creating the distraction Bellamy needed to try and take the noose off. However, Murphy was quick to notice Bellamy's attempt at escaping and kicked the stool out from under Bellamy's feet, sending Bellamy into the air, choking and struggling to breathe.

I launched forward out of instinct and screamed. "Bellamy, no! Murphy stop it, you're killing him! Please, stop!" I thrashed against the damn seat belt, but it wouldn't budge. Tears of frustration and fright welled up in my eyes as I tried my best to loosen the rope, but it was useless.

"How does it feel, Princess? Watching the King you know to be so strong dying right before your eyes." Murphy called out to me loudly. Bellamy clawed at the noose, which Murphy saw and put an end to it. "Using your hands is a cheat. Mine were bound, remember?" He hissed. Bellamy managed to punch him in the face, sending him flying to the floor, and clutched at the rope again, giving him the chance to breathe in more air. Murphy had landed by me and was about to get up, but I kicked him in the stomach to send him to the ground again, allowing Bellamy more time to try and save himself. "You'll pay for that." Murphy barked at me, launching himself at me and grabbing my hair, sending my head straight into the bar of the ladder. I cried out as I felt the metal dig into the already present wound. Murphy ran back over to Bellamy and hit him several times, resulting in him letting go of the rope and choking even more. The door suddenly creaked open as there were several celebratory shouts. Murphy darted up the ladder, making his way to the upper levels.

"Raven, you did it!" I heard one voice cheer. I looked at the door and saw Jasper peer in, holding up a gun. His eyes widened as he saw Bellamy hanging and he ran over, lifting him up by the legs to allow him to breathe.

O ran over to them, helping Jasper hold them. "Bell! Hold on!" Miller ran over to where I was and pulled out a knife, cutting the rope. I heard a thud and looked over to find Bellamy on the floor, lying in Octavia's arms. "Bell, breathe! Breathe!"

"Can you breathe?" Jasper asked. They got the noose off of Bellamy and he began taking in large gulps of air. "Raven, he's fine!" Jasper shouted. He then looked at me with a smile. "They both are!"

I felt something begin cutting through the rope bounding my wrists together and saw Miller. "Elena, you alright?" He asked, a concerned look appearing on his face when he saw the blood on my head.

I nodded. "I'm okay." He finally cut through it and the seatbelt fell to the floor. I rubbed my sore wrists, now red from all the thrashing I did.

"Murphy! Murphy! It's over!" I heard Bellamy scream. He got up and walked over to the ladder, which I had backed away from in favour of leaning against the wall since my head was spinning. I had never heard him, nor seen him, this angry before. Honestly, it was kind of terrifying. He grunted as he climbed the ladder and shoved his should against the closed hatch. "Murphy! There's only one way out of this for you now!"

O walked over to me and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me too." I replied weakly as I returned the hug tightly. However, the moment was ruined when a loud explosion suddenly sounded out, making us jump.

Bellamy finally got the hatch open and climbed up the ladder. "Murphy!" A load of smoke seeped out from the hatch. Jasper quickly followed Bellamy.

It was quiet for a minute before the walkie talkie went off. "All gunners! We got movement outside the south wall!" Bellamy and Jasper quickly climbed down the ladder and we all ran outside.

* * *

"Someone's coming! Get ready! Stay together!"

Everyone had their guns at the ready when Miller, who had gone to check the lookout, shouted out. "Wait! Hold your fire! Clarke and Finn! Open the gate!" I perked up as I heard him say their names.

"Get it! Get the gate! Move it! Move it! Clarke and Finn! They're back!" The gate was opened and the two came running in as Bellamy and O started walking forward.

Tears gathered in my eyes for what felt like the millionth time today as I sprinted past the two Blakes and threw myself at Clarke. "Thank god you're okay! I was so worried."

She hugged back, clutching at the back of my jacket. "I'm so glad we're back." I heard her mumble. We pulled away and she looked at Bellamy as I gave Finn a quick hug. "We heard an explosion. What happened?"

"Murphy happened." Came Bellamy's short, angry answer.

Jasper hugged Clarke. "Where have you been? Where's Monty?"

"Monty's gone?" Clarke asked. That's not a good sign.

Finn spoke up. "Clarke, we need to leave, now. All of us do. There's an army of grounders, unlike anything we've ever seen, coming for us right now. We need to pack what we can and run." He informed us.

"Like hell we do. We knew this was coming." Bellamy stated, his voice still raspy from choking.

Octavia shook her head. "Bell, we're not prepared."

"And they're not here yet. We still have time to get ready. Besides, where would we go? Where would we be safer than behind these walls?" He gestured towards the walls of the camp.

"There's an ocean to the east. People there will help us." Finn replied.

Octavia looked shocked. "You saw Lincoln." Finn merely nodded.

"You expect us to trust a grounder?" Bellamy asked like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"We can trust Lincoln." I spoke up. Bellamy shook his head at me and looked at the crowd. "This is our home now." He declared. "We built this from nothing with our bare hands!" He pointed at the wall that separated us from our makeshift graveyard. "Our dead are buried behind that wall in this ground! Our ground! The grounders think they can take that away. They think that because we came from the sky, we don't belong here. But they're yet to realise one very important fact: we are on the ground now, and that means we are grounders!" Everyone cheered.

"Grounders with guns!" Someone shouted.

"Damn right! I say let 'em come!" Bellamy concluded his speech.

Clarke sighed and stepped up. "Bellamy's right. If we leave, we may never find a place as safe as this. And God knows, in this world, we could be faced with something even worse tomorrow. But that doesn't change the simple fact that if we stay here, we will die tonight. So pack your things. Just take what you can carry. Now." Clarke demanded. Everyone started doing as Clarke told them to do.

"Help me." Someone pleaded. We all looked for the sound of the voice and saw Raven limping towards us. Her leg was bleeding.

"Raven!" We called out, running over to her.

"Murphy shot her." Jasper muttered as Finn quickly picked her up.

"Get her into the drop ship." Clarke instructed.

"Clarke, leaving here is a mistake." Bellamy said to the blonde. I didn't stay around to listen to their conversation though. I ran after Finn to examine Raven's leg.

* * *

Finn placed Raven down and I grabbed a knife to cut the material of her jeans so that I could easily access the wound.

Clarke appeared at the door and walked over to us, grabbing the knife from my hands. "Let me do this, go and clear you head up."

I nodded and walked over to the table which had a bowl of water and a cloth on it. I quickly cleaned up the wound as best as I could, making sure that it was no longer bleeding and glanced over to Clarke. "Are you going to be alright if I check on how everyone's doing?"

Clarke nodded. "I've got this." I sighed and walked out of the drop ship.

* * *

Everyone was bustling about packing as much as they could. I notice Bellamy standing in the middle of camp, frowning as he glanced around. I approached him, softly calling out his name.

He turned towards me, inhaling deeply as his gaze fell upon me. Closing the distance, he grabbed my face in his hands and crashed his lips down onto mine in a desperate, but passionate kiss. I could tell he was trying to convey his feelings of relief that I was safe and regret that he couldn't help me. Though, I couldn't help but feel as though it was a goodbye kiss, like he'd never be able to kiss me again and wanted to let me know just how much he loved me. And maybe it was a goodbye kiss. After all, there's a possibility that we'll be facing the grounders soon and we won't be strong enough to win. With that thought, I stood on the tips of my toes and clutched at his jacket, responding to his kiss and feelings with my own.

**Hey guys, it's been a while… Sorry about that! But here's the latest chapter for you, we're so close to the end :D Not sure how I feel about the ending on this one, but I really wanted to get this chapter up for you, so if you could let my know how it was I'd appreciate it. Hope you've enjoyed it, until next time~**


	13. We Are Grounders (Part 2)

**SEASON FINALE TIME! Need I say more?**

* * *

**Elena's POV**

"That should stop the external bleeding." Clarke announced as she finish sealing Raven's wound with the heated knife. Bellamy and I had rejoined her, Finn and Raven back in the drop ship.

Finn frowned at the sight of Raven in pain and shook his head. "I don't understand. How did Murphy get a gun?" He looked to Bell and I for answers.

We shared weary looks before Bellamy answered his question. "Long story." Neither of us wanted to go into it right now.

"We got lucky." Raven croaked out, exhausted from all the pain she had felt. "If Murphy hit the fuel tank instead of me, we'd all be dead."

Clarke's eyes widened at Raven's words. "Wait, there's rocket fuel down there? Enough to build a bomb?

Raven gave her a weak nod. "Enough to build a hundred bombs if we had any gunpowder left."

"Let's get back to the reapers." Bellamy refocused their attention. In his hands was another one of Lincoln's sketch book, in which there was a drawing of a man with a violent expression. He seemed to have some sort of war paint on him, which made him look intimidating. This was what a reaper looked like. "Maybe they'll help us." I didn't miss the sheer look of terror on Clarke's face as she looked at Finn. "'The enemy of my enemy is my friend,' right?"

The blonde frantically shook her head. "Not this enemy."

"Are they really that bad?" I asked. The grounders are bad, so how much worse could the reapers be? Though, looking at that picture, I'm starting to get a relatively good idea of what they're like.

"Yeah, they are." Clarke replied, seemingly disheartened by the fact that we had no allies. "We saw them, trust me. That's not an option."

Finn quickly spoke over her, panicking about Raven. "There's no time for this. Can she walk or not?"

"No. We have to carry her." Clarke told him.

Raven immediately protested, pushing herself up. "Like hell you will. I am good to go." She groaned in agony.

Clarke and I pushed her back down, knowing that her injury would only get worse if she tried to walk. "Hey! Listen to me." Clarke demanded harshly. "That bullet is still inside you. If by some miracle there's no internal bleeding, it might hold until we get somewhere safe, but you are not walking there. Is that clear?" Her tone was very firm and final.

Raven frowned, her eyes filled with pain. "Yeah."

Finn walked off. "I'll get the stretcher."

"Can't run away fast enough, huh? Real brave." Bellamy taunted.

I nudged his shoulder gently. "Bell, not now." He spared me a glance, but Finn stole his attention.

"Dying in a fight you can't win isn't brave, Bellamy. It's stupid." Finn argued back.

I saw Bellamy's jaw clench as he gritted his teeth and walked over to Finn. "Spoken like every coward who's ever run from a fight."

I rolled my eyes and snapped at the two of them. "That's enough! You're not helping anyone by arguing."

"Elena's right." Clarke agreed. "C'mon, it's time to go."

However, Bellamy was still dead set against the plan of leaving and found another point to argue with. "If they follow, it's a 120 mile walk to the ocean."

"Look, we're wasting time! If he wants to stay, he can stay." Finn growled, marching out of the drop ship.

"No, he can't!" I said in retaliation to Finn's words, but kept my gaze firm on Bellamy, who rolled his eyes at me. I sighed and walked up to him, grabbing his hand in my own. "Bell, I get it, okay? We made this place a home and you don't want to leave it behind - no one does - but we have to think about everyone's safety. If we stay here and take on the grounders head on, we will lose. It's a leap of faith to leave now and head towards the ocean, but it's our best option. You get that, don't you?" I saw Bellamy's eyes soften at my words and knew he was coming round, slowly, but surely.

Clarke must have also noticed his resolve weakening as she pitched in. "Those kids out there, they listen to you."

Bellamy shook his head. "They're lining up to go. They listen to you more."

"I gave them an easy choice. But five minutes ago, they were willing to fight and die for you. You inspire them." She paused for a moment. "And I am afraid we're gonna need that again before this day is through." She let her words sink in as she followed Finn out of the drop ship.

I stepped closer to Bellamy and placed my hand on his cheek, making him look down at me. "Together, remember? We'll do this _together_." He nodded soundlessly and kissed my forehead.

* * *

The gate was opened and those with a gun had them aimed at the ready. Everyone piled out of the camp cautiously as I waited patiently for Bellamy to finish taking in the image of the camp.

Clarke walked over to us with a somber expression on her face as she watched Bellamy sadly look around the camp. "You did good here, Bellamy."

He frowned at her. "18 dead."

"82 alive." She countered. "You did good." Bellamy sighed and picked up a bucket of water, throwing it on the fire to put it out. It made a hissing sound as steam rose up from it, vanishing into the air. He grabbed my hand and we all left the camp. Our home.

* * *

We had been walking quietly for the most part. Their was a low buzz of excitement and chatter surrounding us, but Bellamy had remained silent and I hadn't pushed him into talking. I couldn't stop myself from glancing up at him every few minutes, because I was worried about him. It wasn't like him to be this quiet, but then again I knew how much he disliked this plan. Everyone suddenly stopped walking and the chatter died down. Bellamy and I both frowned out of confusion, when a loud shot erupted from the front of the line.

"GROUNDERS!" It was Jasper. My eyes widened as I heard Bellamy directing everyone back towards camp, automatically jumping into leader mode. We both took off in a sprint back to camp, standing at the sides to usher everyone in and make sure they all made it. Bellamy left my side to climb up on the look out and aim his gun at any incoming grounders.

"Hurry up!"

"Quick, get in!" Everyone was panicking, trying to get beck into camp where they felt safe.

Once I saw the last person run through I rushed over to the gate. "Help me shut the gate!" I called out to no one in particular. A few people, including O came to help. The gate was finally shut and Clarke and I both had the same idea to climb up onto the look out with Bellamy. We looked into the trees, but no one was there.

"Where are they? Why aren't they attacking?" He asked.

Clarke started breathing heavily as if she was panicking, which she probably was. "Because we're doing exactly what they wanted us to do."

"What are you talking about?"

She turned around and looked over the camp, meeting O's gaze. "Lincoln said the scouts would be the first to arrive."

"If it's just scouts, we can fight our way out. That's what Lincoln would do." O declared.

Bellamy jumped down from the stand. "We're done doing what that grounder would do. We tried it and now Drew is dead." He referred to the blonde boy who had just been killed by the grounders, which was the main cause of the flurry of panic. "You want to be next?"

"That grounder saved our lives." Finn cut in. "I agree with Octavia. For all we know, there's one scout out there."

"One scout with insanely good aim." Jasper muttered, aiming his gun at the trees.

O gave us a determined look. "Elena, Clarke, we can still do this."

Bellamy's glare settled on me and Clarke. "Looking to you, Golden Duo. What's it gonna be? Run and get picked off out in the open, or stand and fight back?" Scratch that, everyone's eyes were on us. Clarke and I looked to each other for the answer.

Finn was quick to further argue his case, aiming for Clarke's agreement rather than mine. "Clarke, if we're still here when Tristan gets here…"

I heard my blonde best friend swallow nervously before she replied. "Lincoln said "scouts." More than one. He said, "get home before the _scouts_ arrive. "" They were all quiet again, still watching the two of us closely.

Hearing that made my mind up. "Okay." Holding back a frustrated groan, I jumped down from the look out. "I'm sorry, but Bellamy's right." Cue a smug look from my boyfriend, which I promptly ignored. "The situation has changed, they got here earlier than we thought. Out there we'll have little to no defence, but in here we have walls that act as a barrier."

I heard a thud from behind me and saw Clarke walking over to us. "Looks like you've got your fight." She said to Bellamy.

"Okay, then." Bellamy yelled, getting ready to pump the adrenaline of the crowd up with a speech. "This is what we've been preparing for. Kill them before they kill us. Gunners, to your posts. Use the tunnels to get in and out. From now on, the gate stays closed." Everyone started to get into position. Octavia ran past us, but Bellamy grabbed her arm to stop her. "Whoa, O, O. You're not a gunner."

O shrugged. "No, I'm not. Like you said, I'm a grounder." She held up her sword with a determined look and darted away before Bellamy could stop her again. He turned to me with a worried expression etched onto his face.

I clicked my tongue. "Don't look at me like that, you're the one who said we're grounders. Besides, you don't have time to fight her on this, Bell." I grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the drop ship.

* * *

A model of the camp had been set up so that Bellamy could explain our positioning and how we will be attacking. Finn and Clarke listened closely as he began the explanation. "We've got 25 rifles with 20 rounds each, give or take. Roughly 500 rounds of ammo. While you two were gone, we made some improvements. Thanks to Raven, the gully is mined."

"Partially mined. Thanks to Murphy." Raven corrected bitterly.

"Still, it's the main route in. If the grounders use it, we'll know. She also built grenades." He picked one up.

Clarke looked at them doubtfully. "It's not many."

"Again, thank you, Murphy." Raven scoffed.

Bellamy put the grenade down. "We'll make them count. If the grounders make it through the front gate, guns and grenades should force them back."

"And then?" Clarke enquired.

"Then we close the door and pray." Raven concluded.

"And pray what? That the ship keeps them out? Because it won't."

"Then let's not let them get through the gate." Bellamy lifted up the walkie talkie. "All foxholes, listen up. Keep your eyes and ears open. Inflict casualties, as many as possible. You can hold them off long enough to make them turn back. That's the plan."

Finn scoffed at Bellamy's plan. "That's always your plan, just like the bomb at the bridge."

"Damn right. You got a better idea?"

"It can't be that simple." Clarke murmured. "You said there's fuel in those rockets, right?" She clarified with Raven. "Enough to build 100 bombs."

"I also said we've got no gunpowder left." Was her answer.

I cocked my head to the side with a slight grin. "I know that look. What are you thinking?"

The blonde looked to me with a smirk. "Well, I don't want to build a bomb, that's for sure. I want to blast off."

Raven grinned at Clarke's plan. "Draw them in close. Fire the rockets. A ring of fire."

"Barbecued grounders. I like it." Bellamy nodded in approval.

"Will it work?" Finn asked.

Raven pursed her lips, thinking of ways to make it work. "The wiring's a mess down there, but yeah. You give me enough time, I'll cook them real good."

* * *

I was traipsing through the lowest level of the drop ship, looking for the ignition system, with a slight scowl on my face. Bellamy had made me promise to help out in here where I'm 'safe', rather than going out with him and guarding the camp. I only agreed because I knew he'd already be slightly distracted by the fact that O had run off into one of the foxholes, he didn't need to be anymore distracted.

"Finn, do you see it over there?" I heard Clarke's voice ask from another part of the lower level.

"No." Was the muffled reply.

"Elena?"

"No." I answered, my voice weary. How were we supposed to roast the grounders if our leading expert in this field is out of commission. Speaking of Raven, I wonder how she's doing. She's been very quiet, too quiet for the feisty brunette that I know she is. Then again she has a nasty wound, so it's not that surprising I guess. I thought I'd better check, just in case. "Raven, you're being awfully quiet up there. Are you okay? Do you need me or Clarke to come check on you?"

"I can't feel my legs." Raven sounded close to tears and I didn't blame her because that wasn't a good sign.

"Okay, hold on. We're coming." Clarke replied. We all quickly climbed up to the next level to where Raven was. Clarke and I crouched down either side of Raven and gently pushed her forward, while Finn moved so he was beside Clarke, placing a comforting hand on Raven's leg. We pulled up Raven's top and looked at the damage. Subconsciously, I took a sharp intake of breath when I saw the large purple bruise that had spread across Raven's hip and lower back. Clarke threw Finn a scared look, who returned it with a worried glance.

"That bad, huh?" Raven laughed bitterly, trying to act strong. We gently pulled her so that she was sat upright. She let out pained groans.

"Raven…" Clarke trailed off, finding it hard to break the news. "The bullet's in your spine. You're bleeding internally."

I could tell Raven was pushing back a sob. "We better do this fast then, huh? Get back down there."

Clarke moved to leave, but Finn grabbed her shoulder to stop here. "What if we can slow the bleeding? Would that help?" Well, duh.

"Well, of course it would help." Clarke was obviously thinking along the same lines as me. "Can you tell us how to do that?"

"That stuff the grounders had; coagulant. You said that Lincoln had some, too." Finn explained.

"Yeah, it's in the box with the antidote." Clarke said.

"I'm betting that there's more of it in his cave."

I held out a hand to stop him from saying any more. "That's all good and well, but how do you expect to get that with an army of grounders on their way?" I asked.

Finn settled his determined gaze on me. "I can get there-"

I cut him off. "No, absolutely not! It's too dangerous."

"She's right, Finn! Clarke, tell him he's being an idiot." Raven pleaded with a panicked look on her face.

"Raven." Finn whispered, making Raven look at him.

"What? I'm not gonna let you die to save me."

He sighed. "Fine. If you won't let me save you, how about we save everybody else? You're the only one who can fire those rockets." I could tell Raven was having an internal argument with herself. "If you die, we all die." She remained silent and Finn took that as a sign of approval. "I'll be right back." He started running off.

Clarke, who had been extremely quiet all this time, got up and went after him. "Finn, wait. Wait." They began to converse in low voices and I could see the hurt in Raven's eyes.

I grabbed hold of her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, which she gratefully returned. "As soon as all this is over, I promise you that I'll help you. You're gonna be okay, Raven."

She smiled and looked at me tearfully. "You know, I've only ever had Finn looking out for me."

"Well, now you have me. And Clarke and, no matter how stubborn and annoying he is, you have Bellamy, too. And everyone else for that matter."

"Thank you."

* * *

Finn had left and Clarke and I had returned to the bottom of the drop ship to look for some kind wire, which was impossible due to the infinite number of wires that were all tangled together.

"I count 2, 3, no, wait, there's more. I don't know, man. There's too many of them." I heard a static sounding voice ring out. It was one of the gunners.

"Do you see it or don't you?" Raven's voice asked.

"No. It's a mess down here." Clarke complained.

"South foxhole. South foxhole, report now." Came Bellamy's demanding voice over the walkie talkie.

"Yeah, yeah. We're ok. They didn't attack. It's like- it's like shooting at ghosts."

"It'll be orange." Raven added. "Look harder! You have to find the wire that connects the manual override to the electromagnet. It's not rocket science."

Clarke and I responded at the same time. "I beg to differ!"

"It is rocket science, actually."

"Guess we finally found something you're not good at." Raven joked, although I couldn't help but feel like there was some seriousness behind her words. They felt more aimed at Clarke than me, though. "I used to be picked first for everything. Earth skills, zero-g mech course. First every time." Her voice grew weaker. "So, how the hell did I end up here?"

"Raven? I'd pick you first." Clarke said gently.

"Of course you would. I'm awesome." Raven's reply was smug, but I could tell she was really happy about what Clarke said.

I grinned. "I told you she had your back!" I teased in a singsong voice.

My reply was blunt and immediate. "Shut up." I couldn't help but laugh slightly.

"Hey, I found it. Orange wire." Clarke cheered.

"About time! Now follow that wire to the override panel." Was our order.

"Yes, Sir!" I obliged, walking over to Clarke and taking the wire out of her hands. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the ends were frayed. "Um

Raven?"

"Yeah?"

"It's fried. Totally useless." I heard a loud grunt and a thud, which I do believe was Raven's fist hitting the metal.

"Tell me this isn't as bad as I think." Clarke begged, casting me a look of fear.

"Either of you know how to splice a wire?" Raven asked hopefully.

"No."

"I don't even know what that means."

Raven sighed deeply. "Then it's worse."

"Raven, our mines actually worked!" I heard Jasper exclaim through the walkie talkie.

"Jasper can splice!"

Clarke nodded and picked up the walkie talkie. "Jasper, we need you in the drop ship right now."

"Negative. We can't give up the west woods." Bellamy immediately replied.

"The west woods are mined, Bellamy. The grounders just figured that out." Clarke argued. She has a point. "Jasper, get in here."

I grabbed the device from Clarke. "I'll take your place Jasper, just get here now."

"No, stay-" I didn't wait to hear the rest of Bellamy's reply before I climbed up the ladder and ran past Raven, out of the drop ship and over to where Jasper was.

* * *

"Jasper, what are you still doing here? Go!" I chided, grabbing his gun from him.

"But Bellamy said-"

"I don't care what Bellamy said, you need to go do something more important than this, trust me!"

"I see one! There! There!" Harper shrieked from beside us. She shot her gun a couple of times, completely missing the grounder. "Damn it. I'm all out."

I frowned. They were already running out of ammo and the grounders hadn't even made a move to attack yet? "Don't shoot them if they're just running from tree to tree, you're wasting bullets! Only shoot if they're coming at you."

Jasper widened his eyes at me. "That's it! That's what they're trying to do. They want us to run out of ammo so they can take us down easier." He brought the walkie talkie up to his lips and spoke in a clear voice. "All gunners, listen up. The grounders are not attacking. They're making us waste bullets. Don't shoot when they're running laterally."

"Jasper's right. Don't fire until you're sure it's attack. Repeat, do not fire until you are sure." Bellamy ordered, quickly catching on to the grounder's plan.

* * *

The grounders had now made their move and were quickly closing in on us. "Here they come! Fall back!" I heard Miller shout in the distance. "Monroe! Get back here!" It was soon followed by a worried filled shout. "Bellamy!"

My heart started to race at that shout as I clutched tightly at the gun in my hands and began running to where Bellamy was. "Bellamy!"

"Elena, we should all stay together!" I vaguely heard Harper call out to me and I faltered, cursing myself for being selfish and only thinking about Bell.

I turned back around and faced the group that had previously been under Jasper's command. They were all looking to me for orders. C'mon, Elena, think like a leader! "Retreat back to camp, but keep a close eye on your surroundings. Only shoot when grounders are coming at you and you can actually make the shot. When we get back into camp, I need you to guard the gate for as long as you can, understood?" They all nodded. For the first time since arriving down here, I felt like a true leader. My voice was calm and firm and they all looked reassured by my orders. "Good, let's go."

* * *

We had just made it to the camp where Clarke was beginning to herd everyone into the drop ship when a bang was heard in the distance. I looked up at the sky and gasped as I saw the something shooting through the air. It was the Ark. Loud shrieks and cheers were suddenly broke through the silence and the sound of metal clashing soon filled the air. My group was back safe, everyone was getting ready to escape into the drop ship, the gunners were in position to protect the gate and I finally had the chance to glance around to find Bellamy and O, who I hadn't seen or heard from since she ran off. I looked around frantically, but I couldn't find either of the Blake siblings anywhere.

"Elena, get in the drop ship!" Clarke screamed.

I heard another loud bang and saw the gate about to fall down. Running towards Clarke, I narrowly missed a couple of the grenades being thrown at the grounders. I had nearly reached the blonde when I was tackled to the ground. The person flipped me over, pinning to the floor and swung a knife at me. Luckily, I caught their wrist before they could hit me and peered up at the person. "Anya?" I breathed out.

"Die!" She growled at me and thrashed about, trying free her wrist from my grasp. I fought back, barely missing her powerful swings, trying to ignore the nagging little inconvenient voice in the back of my head screaming 'déjà vu' at me. With a lot of effort, I managed to hold her wrist to the side long enough for me to bring my head up to hit hers. She let out a grunt of pain, head thrown back from the force and I quickly pushed her off of me. I went to get up, but she was faster and lunged at me, slashing my side with the knife. I let out a cry as I felt pain searing through my side.

"Elena!" I heard a deep voice yell. A voice I'd recognise anywhere. Bellamy.

I noticed Anya was distracted by him and took advantage of the moment by ripping the knife from her hand and plunging it into her stomach. She fell to the floor, screaming in pain. Clutching my side, I began to make my way over to Bellamy. "Bell-"

"Get her into the drop ship!"

I frowned, confused at his words, but noticed that he was looking behind me. Arms came around me as I was lifted up and carried away from Bellamy, towards the drop ship. He had been talking to Finn. "What? No! Finn, put me down- Ah!" I had been thrashing about, but grimaced when I felt the pain in my side worsen. I opted for staying still, but looked over Finn's shoulder at Bellamy. He picked up a gun and ran into the middle of camp where a big, muscular grounder was standing. Bell tried to shoot him, but ended up dodging his blade and getting punched in the face. "No, Bellamy!" Tears filled my eyes as I watched the grounder pick him up by his collar and knee him in the stomach. Finn ran behind a small makeshift wall and placed me beside Clarke, who quickly brought me into her arms as I began sobbing. "He's killing him, someone help him!" By this point, my tears were spilling over non stop.

"Give me that." Finn growled, snatching a gun from someone who was running past us and into the drop ship. He fired it at the grounder who was mercilessly. Finn ran over and tackled the grounder, giving Bellamy time to recover and help Finn out.

"Finn, no! No!" Clarke broke down as she watched Finn get hit.

A pair of hands grabbed my shoulders and shook me lightly. "C'mon, let's go, we have to go!" Miller shouted at us.

I pushed him off of me and shook my head. "No, I can't leave without Bellamy."

He growled and picked me up, ignoring my protesting. "Clarke, you can't save everybody."

I quickly looked over my shoulder and saw Bellamy standing up, glancing at the grounder went to attack Finn instead. He turned and around and met my gaze. I silently begged him to run, but he shook his head and smiled at me, mouthing 'I love you, Princess.' "No, Bellamy, please!" I cried out, but it was useless. He ran off towards the grounder and that was the last I saw of him before going into the drop ship.

* * *

Miller set me down and propped me up against the wall. Clarke ran in, looking at me with a teary gaze as she pulled the lever and shut the door. We heard a scream and something clambering down the door as it closed. Anya came tumbling in, clutching her wounded stomach and holding out a sword, making us all gasp. The door finally shut and the grounders started banging against the drop ship.

"Jasper, now!" Clarke gave the order. I hissed at the pain shot shooting my side as I brought my knees up to my chest, trying to protect myself from visions of Bellamy being out there when the rockets went off.

Jasper pressed the button, but nothing happened. "No!" He whimpered, repeatedly pressing the button.

"Anya, you can't win." I heard Clarke rationalise with the grounder. Knowing she'd deal with it, I uncurled myself and tried to distract myself by looking at my wound. It was pretty deep and relentlessly bleeding, meaning that I'd need to deal with it soon otherwise I'd lose too much blood. My attention was diverted when I heard a battle cry and saw Anya swiping her blade through the air, but Miller hit her with the back of his gun and knocked her out.

"Kill her!" Someone shouted. "She deserves to die!"

They all began kicking and beating her, but Clarke got into the middle of it. "Stop! She's already down. No! Stop! We're not like that." They weren't listening to her, so she raised her voice. "No! We are not grounders." Everyone stopped what they were doing as we heard a huge explosion outside. I turned my head to look at Jasper, who was breathing heavily. He did it.

* * *

We had been in here for a while now, not wanting to rush outside and see what remained. Anya had been tied up and gagged and Clarke had managed to at least bandage up my side, but I had lost a lot of blood. Everyone was quiet, no one daring to speak about what had occurred. My tears had stopped falling, but I'm pretty sure it was only because I had run out of tears to cry. I felt numb. I had absolutely no idea where Octavia had gone. I could only hope and pray that she was safe with Lincoln. At least then I'd have a chance of seeing her again. If she was dead, I don't think I'd be strong enough to go on. And Bellamy, well…Bellamy was dead. I'd never get to see his breathtaking smile or his cocky smirk, nor would I get hear his voice tease me or tell me he loves me ever again. He was gone. I started to feel light headed and black spots coated my vision. I heard a voice telling me to stay awake, but it sounded so far away. I couldn't take it any longer. I was so tired, a nap wouldn't hurt, would it?

* * *

**Well, that's it for season 1! We made it! See you guys for season 2~**


	14. The 48

**I got excited for season 2 and accidentally wrote the first chapter for it, oops ;)**

* * *

**Elena's POV**

"Mmm…" I rolled my head around to try and soothe the ache I felt. I heard loud, heavy footsteps approaching and stiffened as I had a feeling that they didn't belong to any of the others. A shot rang out and a loud thud followed it. I turned around and sat up slowly, looking at the dead grounder on the ground and then Raven, who was grunting and gasping from the pain she felt. "Raven!" I gasped, crawling over to her, ignoring the pain in my side. She was much more important.

"Elena…" She said weakly, looking up at me with scared eyes.

I glanced around and saw that no one was here. "Where is everyone?"

"I don't know."

This wasn't good, I could feel myself starting to panic. They wouldn't just leave us here, something was wrong. "Okay, well, um… I'll go and take a look outside and-"

"No! Don't leave me alone, please!" Raven begged, grabbing my hand. "Besides, we have no idea what's out there."

I nodded slowly, seeing how upset she was. "Okay. Look, I'm just going over there to get the bowl of water and a cloth." I informed her gently. She let go of my hand and allowed me to get up. I grabbed the bowl and cloth and sat back beside her again, soaking the cloth and wiping the sheen of sweat that was covering her face. I couldn't do anything else for her but offer her some form of comfort.

"What happened to your side?" She asked quietly, watching me closely as I tended to her.

I sighed, taking of my jacket and folding up to place under her head as a form of pillow. "Got into a fight with Anya. She slashed my side with her knife and I stabbed her in the stomach with it."

Raven chuckled weakly. "Nice." She commented. "Knew you had some fight in you." I silently wondered if she knew about Finn. He had been out there with… "Something is wrong. They wouldn't just leave us here." She voiced my earlier thoughts.

"I know, but there's not much we can do about it. I really have no idea what we're going to do now."

"Was Finn with you? When you all got in here?" Raven enquired.

I opened my mouth to answer, but quickly shut it again, not being able to find the words. My breathing grew heavier as I pushed back the lump in my throat and tried to keep any tears from falling. "He uh- He was out there when- when the rockets went off- he was out there fighting what seemed to be the leader with…Bellamy."

Raven's eyes filled with tears. "You mean he's…"

I nodded solemnly, avoiding her gaze. "I'm sorry."

"Me too." She whispered, making me glance up at her. "You lost Bellamy."

My lips trembled. Hearing someone else say it made it seem even more real. "I don't know what to do anymore." More footsteps approached the drop ship, which made us both jump. I quickly grabbed the gun and held it up, ready to shoot.

A shadow appeared and my finger was ready to press the trigger when Murphy came through the curtain. "W-whoa! It's okay. It's okay, Elena don't. Don't shoot. Please."

"Why shouldn't I? You tried to kill me and Bellamy and you shot Raven!" I glared at him and pressed the trigger…but nothing happened. The gun was out of bullets.

Murphy sighed a sigh of relief and limped over to the wall beside us and fell to the floor. "Yeah, I would've shot me too." He grabbed a knife and started trying to cut the robe that bound his wrists. Raven and I were watching him closely, ready to take action if he tried anything. I think I may be able to take him if he did try anything, his injuries look a lot worse than mine.

"What are you doing here, Murphy?" Raven snapped, finally having enough of just looking at him.

Murphy shrugged. "Dying. Same as you."

"We're not dying!" I hissed. "We'll figure something out."

"Oh and what is that exactly? You can't treat a wound like Raven's in these conditions." He gestured to the room.

"I wouldn't have to if you hadn't have gone crazy and tried to get revenge like a moron."

He flinched at my harsh tone. "Okay, I deserve that."

I scoffed. "You deserve a lot more than that!"

Raven interrupted our argument with a rational question, one that probably should have been asked a lot earlier. "How many more are out there?"

"None. You fried them all. The only reason this one survived is because they left him behind to guard me." Murphy answered. Raven started violently choking on blood.

Both mine and Murphy's eyes widened. I jumped into action, gently taking hold of Raven and pushing onto her side. "Raven, come on, I need you to roll on your side for me." She led on her side and coughed it all up.

Murphy came over to us, grabbing the cloth and wiping the blood from her lips. "You're okay. It's all good." He whispered comfortingly.

"Why are you helping me?" Raven asked Murphy weakly.

"I don't want to die alone." He replied sadly. I rolled my eyes at him and focused my attention back on Raven. I helped her sit back up and lean against the ladder leading to the bottom of the drop ship.

Raven looked back at Murphy. "How did you get to be such a dick, Murphy?"

Murphy tied something around his leg to try and bandage his wound. "I'm sorry for shooting you, okay? And I'm sorry for threatening to kill you and Bellamy. Is that what you want to hear?"

Raven glared at Murphy. "Let me guess. Mommy and daddy didn't love you?"

"No, they loved me."

"Are you gonna cry, Murphy?" Raven taunted.

"Screw you, Raven." Murphy spat.

"So, tell me. I want to know. How does a kid who's loved by his parents turn into a murdering psychopath?"

Murphy started his sob story. "He gets the flu. His father steals medicine that turns out wouldn't help anyway. Gets floated for it and uh- his mother, she starts drinking pretty heavily after that and last words she says to him before he finds her in a pool of her own vomit is that- is that he killed his father."

Raven looked take aback by his story, as I'm sure I did too. "Boo-hoo." I heard her say, though the sad look on her face contradicted her harsh words. Murphy looked at her, sending her a glimpse of a smile before he turned away.

* * *

Raven was quickly losing consciousness and I knew that I was running out of time to come up with some sort of plan. "Raven, please stay awake. I need you to stay awake."

"I'm trying." Her voice had died down to a whisper as she fought hard with the want to sleep.

"Can you help her?" Murphy asked and I could actually hear worry in his voice.

I looked at him with a regretful look on my face. "Like you said before, I can't do anything in this situation. She needs surgery." We both jumped as we heard the curtain being pulled across and looked at the entrance of the drop ship. My heart skipped a beat when I saw a gun, which was being held by my father. I gasped loudly, feeling tears spring to my eyes once again. "Daddy?" The childish name left my lips involuntarily, but I couldn't bring myself to care about how childish and weak I must of sounded.

I saw a look of relief flood his eyes and he ran over to me and gathered me up in his arms. "You're okay, you're safe now." I heard him mutter into my hair.

I wrapped my arms around him and let out loud sobs. "I thought you were dead. The exodus ship fell and I-" I couldn't even form sentences any more.

He pulled back and took my face in his hands. "I wasn't on it, I'm right here. I'll protect you now." I nodded as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.

I noticed Abby run in behind him. "Abby!" I called out.

She ran towards me and hugged me. "Thank god you're okay! Where's Clarke?"

I shook my head. "I don't know." I withdrew myself from her arms and turned to Raven. "You have to help her! She was shot and the bullet is still inside her. Clarke and I- we couldn't do anything and I just- please help her."

Abby took my face in her hands. "It's okay, I'll help her, I promise. So, calm down for me, okay?" I nodded and watched as Abby ran over to Raven.

"C'mon, Kiddo. Let's get you out of here." Dad said gently, helping me up. He noticed me flinch at the pain in my side and gave me a concerned look.

"It's fine. I'm fine. Just a scratch." I assured him, wanting to get out of the stuffy drop ship and breathe in fresh air. I then hesitated, remembering what was out there.

My father obviously mistook my hesitation for fear. "It's okay, no one will hurt you." I took a deep breath and walked outside while he went over to help Murphy out.

* * *

I was greeted with some shouts when I got out of the drop ship and frowned in confusion. Who were the guards shouting at? I almost had a heart attack when two people appeared from one of the foxholes holes to my left. I turned to look at them, but froze when I saw who it was.

"Elena?" It was his voice…it was him.

I shook my head to clear it, thinking I was going crazy. He was dead. No one could have survived that explosion. When I looked again, he was still there - covered in blood and scratches - but still there. I saw him take a hesitant step towards me. "Bellamy?" I whispered more to myself than him. A loud sob wracked my body as I sprinted over to him, ignoring the pain in my side and throwing myself at him, wrapping my legs around his waist and burying my hands into his hair, pressing my lips to his desperately. "How are you here? You were- you were caught up in the explosion. You were _dead_." Words tumbled from my lips at 100 mph.

One arm wrapped around my waist while his other hand entangled itself in my hair. He lifted his head up to meet my lips again. "I managed to get away before it happened. _I'm here, Princess._" He murmured against my lips. A throat being cleared interrupted her reunion. I jumped down and turned to see my father giving me a stern look while helping Murphy out of the drop ship. Uh oh, I forgot about Murphy.

"Bellamy. You're- you're alive." Murphy stuttered.

I felt Bellamy leave my side and approach Murphy, pushing him to the ground. He started choking him. "You murdering son of a bitch!"

"Bellamy, stop!" I shouted, running over to him and trying to get him off, but Finn pulled me away.

"It's best you stay out of it." I heard him mutter quietly. Bellamy was suddenly shocked by one of the guards' batons and fell to the ground gasping. I pushed myself out of Finn's arms and ran to Bellamy, dropping down by his side.

"Place him under arrest." My father ordered. Officers came towards us and picked Bellamy off of the ground.

"What? No! You don't have to do that." I protested.

Finn helped me out. "Wait. You don't understand. Murphy murdered two of our people. He shot another one. He tried to hang Bellamy and threatened Elena."

"I don't care. You are not animals. There are rules. Laws. You are not in control here anymore."

I had had enough of my father's self righteous attitude. I stood up and went over to him. "And you are? You know _nothing _of the ground and what we've had to go through to survive. We banished Murphy because he needed to be punished. It's just as you said, we needed rules. We allowed him back into our camp and he tried to kill two of us and shot another one of us. He deserves a lot more than what Bellamy did to him!"

My father glared down at me. "You don't need to make any rules anymore, Elena. We are here now and the laws of the Ark will apply."

"Let him go, he doesn't need to be arrested!"

"Princess, it's okay." Bellamy cut in.

I looked at him as if he was crazy. "No, it's not okay!"

Abby appeared from the drop ship, followed closely by some of the guards carrying Raven on a stretcher.

"Raven!" Finn exclaimed, running over to her.

"She's lost a lot of blood. It's a miracle that she's still alive. There's no one else in there." Abby informed him sadly. She turned to the guards and told them to follow her. "Come on. Put her down over here." I watched on as my father helped Murphy up.

* * *

Abby was seeing to Raven while my father and the guards searched the camp. Bellamy had been sat down on a log with his hands tied behind his back and I had no idea where Finn had got to.

I walked over to Bellamy and knelt down in front of him, lifting a hand to cup his cheek. "I really thought you were dead." I said weakly.

He gave me a brief smile. "Takes more than an army of grounders to get rid of me, Sweetheart."

I licked my lips lips and looked at the ground, dropping my hand from his face. "O didn't make it to the drop ship. I don't where she is."

"Hey, look at me." I looked back at him. "She's safe, she's with Lincoln."

I raised my eyebrows, surprised. "You actually let her go with him?"

"She was hit and needed help. He could help her." He explained, chuckling at my surprise.

I nodded understandingly. "I'm glad she's safe." Glancing around the camp, I let out a sigh. "I have no idea where the others went."

"Did you hear anything?" Bellamy asked.

I shook my head. "I was out of it by the time they opened the door. I had lost a lot of blood so-"

"You need to get your side looked at." Bellamy demanded.

"It's just a scratch, nothing a clean bandage can't help. Raven's more important right now." He remained quiet as he knew I was right.

"Did Murphy hurt you?"

"No."

"We're leaving." Finn announced, walking over to us.

Bellamy shook his head. "What? This is where they'll come back."

"I don't think they're coming back. The Grounders took them and you know that. Look-" Finn crouched down beside me. "We go with Kane to Alpha Station, we get reinforcements, weapons, then we find our friends." He whispered.

"One question. How many more of us will be dead by then?"

Finn flinched at his question. "Abby says Raven needs surgery or she's gonna die."

Bellamy looked to me for confirmation. "She's right. If we make Raven go any longer without surgery she'll die."

My father spoke up. "It's time to go. Abby?" I looked over and saw Abby carving a message into the drop ship. Looks like she knew they'd come back here too. "Let's get ready to move out. We gotta get there before dark." A guard came over to escort Bellamy. We all got up and started heading out.

I stayed behind, waiting for Abby to finish. "C'mon, Abby. Let's go." I held out my hand to her and she took it, happily allowing me to rest my head on her shoulder as we followed the others.

I felt her press a kiss to the top of my head. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I thought you and dad were dead, you know. I'm really happy you're here." I lifted my head up and looked at her. "We're going to find Clarke, I promise."

* * *

I stared in awe up at the Ark. It was actually on the ground… I wanted to follow Bellamy, who was being escorted into the Ark by guards, but Finn told me to stay back. "Finn, please, just let me go." I begged, trying to detach his hand from my wrist.

"Just wait and see what they do with him first. If they lock him up, then we'll make a plan to free him and go and find the others, okay?" Finn told me in a hushed tone.

"Okay." I agreed reluctantly. It was probably the best plan as opposed to charging in and demanding he be freed.

"Elena, come and get your side checked over." I hear Abby call out to me. I glanced at her and then back at Finn.

"Go. We're going to need you in top form when we save the others. I'll come and get you as soon as I know what they're doing with Bellamy."

"Promise?"

"I promise." Finn assured me.

I sighed and walked over to Abby, who placed an arm around me as we walked to the medical area. "It's pretty deep and I lost a lot of blood, but it's bandaged and I've stopped bleeding. I think with a couple of stitches and a fresh bandage, I'll be fine."

"Okay, good. We'll see to that then. So, what's going on with you and Bellamy?" She asked with a teasing grin.

I could feel myself start to blush. "Oh, shush you."


	15. Inclement Weather

**Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy it :) There's a link to Elena's new outfit on my profile if you're interested.**

* * *

**Elena's POV**

My side was bandaged, I had clean clothes, I was well rested and I was ready to rescue my boyfriend from the clutches of my father and look for my friends. There's no doubt in my mind that Bellamy was feeling restless and annoyed about being locked up and interrogated. I looked around what had been appropriately named 'Camp Jaha' for Finn, who had informed me of Bellamy's situation, as promised, but had yet to form a plan with me. The medical area caught my eye as I decided that Finn would, of course, be where Raven was. I jogged over and peered into the room, seeing Raven lying there still in agony. Finn was right by her side, clutching onto her hand tightly as Abby examined her. Letting out a quiet sigh, I knew now wasn't the time to talk to Finn about helping Bellamy, not when Raven was still in a life threatening situation.

* * *

I took it upon myself to try to quell father's anger towards Bellamy. I managed to sneak into the part of the Ark where they were keeping Bellamy locked up and, luckily for me, the doors were kept open and unguarded. Taking a chance, I slowly inched myself towards the edge of the door and took a quick look inside the room. My heart rate quickened as I saw an armed guard standing by the opposite side of the door and guessed that there was probably another guard the other side. I rolled my eyes at my father's antics. What did he think Bellamy was going to do, kill him? I peeked round the edge of the door again, feeling a little braver this time and taking in more of the room. Bellamy and my father were sitting on chairs opposite one another. Their tones were hushed, but I could just about hear what they were saying.

"I just have one more question." Dad leaned forward, as if he were sharing important information that was meant for Bellamy's ears only. "What are you to my daughter?" I internally groaned at the question which was in no way related to the situation we were dealing with, but found that I still held my breath, anticipating Bellamy's reply.

The answer was clear, confident and determined. "I'm her boyfriend."

Dad scoffed. "Please, a troublemaker like you isn't good enough for my daughter; no one is." I rolled my eyes at him. He has no right to play overprotective father after barely being a father to me at all. "You probably just saved her a couple of times and now she's infatuated with you." I gritted my teeth, seething with anger at my father's cold words. How _dare_ he say something like that to Bellamy.

"With all due respect, Sir, I know your daughter a lot better than you ever have and will. I know that when she's nervous she plays with her hair and bites her bottom lip; I know that when she's angry or frustrated her brow furrows, her eyes narrow and she pouts her lips slightly; I know that when she's upset she won't tell anyone because she doesn't want to worry them; I know that when she's happy she smiles this big, beautiful smile that can light up an entire room. She's strong and determined and always puts others before herself. She's the most amazing person I've ever met. I love your daughter, I have done for a very long time and I've been a friend to her for even longer. So no, I'm not just some guy who saved her and as a result of that she's infatuated with. I'm her best friend, someone she loves, and you can do whatever you want to try to split us up, but you won't because I love her and I'd do _anything_ for her. I won't leave her until she says the words." My eyes watered at my boyfriend's heartfelt words and I stepped forward, making my presence known. The guards aimed their guns at me, startled by my appearance and I thanked every god I could name that they didn't instinctively shoot at me.

Dad stood up out of surprise and barked out an order. "Stand down."

I cleared my throat and stepped into the room, past the guards, ending up just in front of my father. "He's right, you know. He does know me better than you; better than anyone actually. I've know Bell for a long time, since I was 10. He's not just some random guy, he's someone very important to me who I love more than anything. So, please, just stop treating him like a criminal and let him go. He didn't do anything wrong, Murphy had it coming. Besides he won't do anything like that again, I'll make sure of it." I pleaded with my father, hoping he'll understand. But, of course, he didn't. He just point-blank ignored me. I huffed and sat down on the chair that had previously been occupied by my father. Bellamy raised a brow at me, looking a little amused.

"Elena, get up." My father demanded harshly.

Up until then I had kept my back towards him, but his order made me turn around and glare up at him, challenging him. "No, you won't let Bellamy go, fine. I'm staying right here next to him. You can tie me up too, if you want." He rolled his eyes at me and walked out of the room, motioning to the guards to follow. He shut the door behind him. "Jerk." I stood up and took a couple of steps forward so that I was directly in front of Bellamy. Bending down, I took his face in my hands and crashed my lips to his heatedly. He kissed back, just as eager and grabbed my hips, pulling me down onto his lap so that I was now straddling him. I pulled back, panting slightly, as was he, and pecked his lips lightly. "Thank you for not being scared away by my dad. I love you."

Bellamy chuckled, rolled his eyes and leaned forward, kissing me again. "It would take a lot more than an overprotective dad to keep me away. I meant what I said, baby. I love you."

"He really doesn't deserve to play the role of overprotective dad though." I pouted.

"You're his little girl, no matter what's happened. It's in his instincts to protect you from anything and anyone, especially boyfriends."

Rolling my eyes, I rested my forehead against his. "Whatever," I shook off his words, "he still had no right to talk to you the way he did." The doors suddenly opened again and I jumped off of Bellamy, startled. I could feel heat rising to my cheeks as two guards, my father and Murphy looked at us. The two guards were holding Murphy, who had his hand bounded together.

"What's he doing here?" Bellamy asked, sounding extremely pissed, not that I blame him.

"Mr. Murphy has been cleared out of medical." The blonde female guard answered.

My father looked at us with a stern face, before nodding to a pole than ran from the ground up the ceiling. "Put him over there, Major Byrne." The guard nodded and dragged Murphy over to the pole.

The guard, a large male, walked over to me and Bellamy and pushed down on Bellamy's shoulders, making him drop to the floor. "On your knees. Come on."

I tried to stop the guard, but my father grabbed ahold of me. "What the hell is going on?" I hissed, thrashing against my father. I watched as they tied Bellamy and Murphy to a pole on either side of the room.

"Well, this should be fun." Murphy muttered sarcastically. Gunshots suddenly went off. My father and the guards all ran off to find out what was going on. Murphy and Bellamy both looked at me confused and I opened my mouth to saying something, but opted for shrugging weakly and running off to find out what was going on, throwing a quick 'I'll be right back' over my shoulder.

* * *

I jogged over at the same time as Abby. "What's going on?" She asked me.

I shook my head. "No idea." We ran over to the man who had shot the gun and heard him tell my father that he thought there was someone in the trees.

"You open fired?" Abby looked at him incredulously. "That could have been the kids."

She went to run out into the woods, but dad caught her arm. "Abby! No. We'll sweep the woods. In the meantime, who issued you that weapon?"

"I did, sir." The blonde guard from before spoke up.

My father snatched the gun from the man's hands and walked up to the guard. "From now on, only members of the guard get guns." He walked to the middle of the camp. Unauthorised use of firearms will be punishable as a felony under the Exodus Charter." He announced. "Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Marcus, search the damn woods." Abby demanded as she walked over to dad. He nodded at the guard.

"Move out! Teams of 3!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Radio checks at 5-minute intervals."

* * *

I sprinted back to the room that currently held Murphy and Bellamy before anyone could stop me. When I reached the room, I checked the hallways for anyone who might have seen me and when I saw that the coast was clear, I entered the room and shut the door behind me. The guys both shot their eyes towards me as soon as I entered the room.

"What happened?" Bellamy asked.

"Some guy fired a gun, claiming that he saw someone in the woods. Abby thinks it might be the others, but I don't think it is. They've sent the guard to search the woods."

He nodded, taking in what I had just told him. "I don't think it's them either. So, what's the plan?"

"I'm gonna go to medical, grab Finn and something to cut your wrists free with. We'll try to get some guns, at the very least knives - some form of weapon- then we're going to get you out of here and go and save our friends."

"Okay, how's Raven doing?"

"Not good. I heard Abby examining the wound earlier. The bullet has moved around too much and it's now pressing against her spine. If they keep it in there, she'll never walk again, but if they operate…" I trailed off, thinking of what could happen as a consequence.

Bellamy frowned, noticing my hesitation to elaborate. "If they operate…"

I looked at Murphy with what I hoped was a murderous glare. "There's a good chance she could die." He looked away guiltily. "She won't be coming with us on our rescue mission."

"What about me?" Murphy spoke up.

I threw him a look of disgust. "What about you?"

"You've spoken about what you guys and Finn are going to do, you're going to free me to, right?"

A brief, disbelieving, humourless laugh left my lips. "You aren't serious, right? Why the hell would we help you? It's your fault that Raven's faced with the decision of not walking ever again or possibly dying in the hopes that they get the bullet out and she may one day be able to walk again!"

"She's right. There's no way in hell we'd help you." Bellamy agreed. Screams and sobs suddenly erupted from another part of the camp and I knew that Raven had chosen to have the bullet removed.

"Yeah, that was me at the grounder camp. You know, I did everything I could not scream, but eventually…" Murphy was cut off by Bell.

"But eventually, you broke and you told them everything."

Murphy smirked. "And you wouldn't have because you're better than me."

"Damn right. I'm not a traitor. I didn't tell them where they could find us."

"And I did. Yeah, I did." Murphy nodded. "After they tortured me in their prison camp for 3 days, but go ahead. You just keep believing, even if you are in here just like me." I saw Bellamy glanced down at his bounded hands, frowning. "Okay, well, I'm going to go check on Raven and get Finn." I said softly, knowing how aggravated Bellamy was right now. I walked over to him, tilted his head to look at me and kissed his lips gently. "We'll be back for you soon."

"Okay."

* * *

By the time I reached the medical tent, Raven's screams had died down. She was led face down on the operating table, fast asleep. Finn was beside her, also asleep. Abby was washing her hands when she heard my footsteps and turned to me with a weak smile. "How is she?" I asked quietly.

"She passed out from the pain, but she'll be fine." Abby answered me.

"That's good."

"How is she?" I stiffened when I heard dad's voice come from behind me.

Abby looked peeved at his appearance. "Well, she survived the surgery. Don't ask me how. She's a courageous kid."

"That's one thing these kids have," My dad placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled at me, "courage." Abby nodded in agreement, both looking at me with proud looks on the faces. "This one," My father shook me a little, "and Bellamy can't wait to get back out there."

Well, they want to help their friends." Abby said knowingly, wanting to rush out there just like Bellamy and I wanted to.

"We all want to find out what happened to them, Abby, but not without a plan or a clear idea of what we're up against."

I frowned at him. "You didn't seem to need a plan when you sent the search team out earlier."

Abby glared at dad. "That's because he didn't send that search team out, did you, Marcus?"

Dad glanced at me, seemingly trying to decide whether he should say what he wanted to say or not. "What is it?" I wondered curiously, wanting to know why he didn't send a search team out.

He sighed and lowered his voice. "Those men were crucified."

"What men?"

"Three of the guard were found pinned to a tree, two dead, one alive, pierced with arrows and spears." He explained.

I nodded understandingly. "That's how they warn people away from them. They've done it before, to my friend Jasper. Luckily, we were able to find him and save him."

"Yes, well, it's a warning I intend to take very seriously. We'll search high and low for the missing kids, you both have my word, but not before we've secured this camp."

Abby gritted her teeth. "They tortured John Murphy and as you've heard first hand from your daughter, they put a spear into Jasper Jordan's chest. We can't wait. Marcus…please."

"I'm sorry. I've made my decision." And with that, he left.

Abby was quiet for a moment before turning to me. "You're really willing to go out and find your friends?"

"Of course I am. We all are. The grounders won't wait around for us to make a move, they could kill them at any moment. We have to go _now_, Abby. Can you help us? All we'd need are some weapons and a way to sneak out, we know these woods pretty well now and we know our enemy, so can you help us?"

Abby smiled and nodded at me. "Wait until Raven wakes up, so Finn can find out about her condition and then we'll sort it out."

* * *

Raven had woken up and was now lying on he back. She still looked pale and sickly, but at least she wasn't in as much pain. I stood at her side with Finn, gently grasping her hand.

Abby ran a stick across Raven's right foot and looked up with a smile when Raven jolted at the feeling. "You felt that?"

"Yes, I felt that." Raven replied with a croaky voice.

|Good. Now the left." Abby ran it over her left.

"Anything?" Finn asked over a moment. "Try it again." Abby didn't move. "Try it again!" Finn raised his voiced, before pushing himself away from the table.

"Finn." Raven murmured, making him turn around.

"Raven," Abby quickly caught her attention again, "I want you to tell me when you feel something, okay?" She scraped the stick along Raven's left leg, getting higher each time.

She got to Raven's thigh and looked up. "There." She spoke quickly, wanting to know what was wrong with her leg.

"Raven, it appears that you have significant damage to the nerves in your left leg." Abby broke the news gently.

"Will I get better?"

"For now, you'll need crutches, but you're alive, and you're not in pain anymore."

"But I'm still crippled." Raven sobbed, tears escaping her eyes.

Abby looked at me and motioned her head towards the door. "We'll give you two some time."

Raven turned her dark gaze to look at me and squeezed my hand. "Thank you for everything you've done."

I shook my head. "I haven't done anything special. I was just trying to be a good friend."

She smiled through her tears. "And that means a lot to me."

I blinked away my tears and placed a kiss to the top of her head. "You're one of the strongest people I know, you'll get through this." I whispered into her ear.

"I hope so." Was her quiet response. I followed Abby out of the main area and waited while Finn and Raven spoke. They didn't talk for very long before Finn walked over to me and Abby.

"We need to get going," was all he said.

I grinned. "Abby's going to help us." He looked surprised, but quickly regained his composure and smiled slightly at us. "Let's go and get our people back."

* * *

Finn went to get the gear together, while I ran to find Monroe and Sterling to help us out. We met up at the medical tent and left to go and free Bellamy. Sterling stood outside the Ark to alert us if someone was coming and Monroe stayed at the door to catch his signal, leaving Finn and I to release Bellamy.

"Get up, we're going after them." Finn announced with a determined look in his eyes.

Bellamy got up from his place on the floor and watched as Finn pulled a pair of pliers from the bag and cut him free. "It's about time."

We all got ready to leave and began to walk out, but Murphy called out to us. "Woah, hang on. Wait! What about me?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "It's like I already said, we aren't helping-" I stopped talking as I watched Bell walk back over to the pliers and pick them up, approaching Murphy with them. Murphy scrambled back against the pole, scared at what Bellamy was going to do.

"Wait. No!" Finn rushed to stop him. "What are you doing?"

Bellamy leaned down and cut part of the chain that connected Murphy to the pole, leaving his hands bounded. "He's coming with us." He grabbed Murphy by the shoulders and hauled him up.

"No way." Finn and I exclaimed.

"C'mon, you guys are smart. Think about it; He's been to the grounder prison camp."

"He's right. Look, I can get you there." Murphy quickly agreed, wanting to avoid being hurt.

"Hey." Monroe called out. "Sterling just signalled. Someone's coming." We all looked at Bellamy, who nodded.

I sighed, knowing that Bellamy had the right idea by bringing Murphy. "Okay, let's just go."

* * *

It was dark out and everyone was heading to bed for the night, leaving it quiet and deserted. Perfect time for sneaking out.

"You don't think anyone saw us?" Bellamy asked, looking around.

Finn 'shh'ed him. "Keep it down." A light was suddenly shined in our faces and everyone, except me and Finn, looked panicked.

"Relax," I started as I reached for Bellamy's hand and gave it a squeeze, "they're on our side."

"You're late." Abby scolded us with a motherly tone.

"Bellamy decided to bring company." Finn motioned to Murphy.

"He's the only person that's been in their camp." Bellamy explained. Abby gave us all guns. Well, except Murphy, that is.

"Here." The guard standing beside Abby said, giving Bellamy a gun. "Find my son. His name is Nathan Miller." Bellamy accepted the gun and nodded. Finn lead the way and one by one everyone started following him. Bellamy pushed Murphy, signalling for him to move.

Abby walked up to me and gave me a tight hug. "Bring them home." She placed a kiss to the top of my head and let me go.

"We will." I promised, following Bellamy into the woods.

* * *

**Please let me know what you think about season 2 or the story as a whole! Until next time~**


	16. Reapercussions

**Elena's POV**

Bellamy had shoved Murphy in front of him, so that he could see him at all times, and slowed his pace slightly to match mine. "How you holding up?" He asked and I wondered if he meant my side, but figured the question was more aimed at the fact that my best friend/practically sister and the rest of our people were missing.

My watchful gaze was trained on Finn as he walked with an air determination, desperation and borderline madness. "Better than him." I murmured, referring to Finn. "He's acting strange. I know he's worried about Clarke, but there's just something not right with the way he's acting." We spoke in hushed tones, not wanting anyone to listen to our conversation. Not that they really would, Murphy was too busy complaining, Monroe and Sterling were constantly surveilling the area surround us and Finn was marching on ahead of us.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bellamy sigh and shake his head at me. "I was asking about you, not him." He lightly took my hand in his and stroked his thumbed across the back of it.

"I'll be fine when I know that the others are safe…and Murphy has a gag put on him." I added as an after thought.

Bellamy let out a quiet chuckle and leaned over to place a kiss on the side of my head. "Can't disagree with you on that one."

"They'll be okay, won't they? We'll save them?" I looked up to him for reassurance, feeling like a naive little child. I felt slightly guilty, making Bellamy give me empty promises. I knew that he couldn't possibly promise me anything because we had no idea what the grounders could have already done to them. That thought made me feel sick to my stomach.

He was quiet for a moment, choosing his words wisely. His tongue subconsciously darted across his lips while he was deep in thought. After about a minute, he spoke up. "We'll stop at nothing to find them, save them and help them through anything they may have already been through." That was good enough for me. I gave him a hint of a smile and a brief nod, letting him know that his words were appreciated. "Elena?"

"Hmm?" I hummed in response, looking around the forest, relishing in the comfort provided by Bellamy's hand in mine.

"Just…promise me that you'll stay close to me throughout this, okay?"

It took me a moment to process his words before I looked up at him with a confused frown. "Where else would I be?"

"I just want to make sure that you don't wander off. I don't want to lose you too."

My heart swelled at his sweet words. I pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I promise I'll stay close to you. You won't lose me."

* * *

A sigh left my lips, making it about the 50th sigh to have sounded from the group as a whole. It was now light out and we'd been trekking through the forest for hours, not stopping to rest. Finn was leading, Bellamy had moved up front behind him, keeping an eye on a bound Murphy, who was whining about not having a gun. As if we'd trust him with one. Monroe and Sterling were close behind me, still keeping a frantic look out for any grounders.

"Alright, Murphy. Where to now?" Bellamy's voice cut through the tension filled silence.

Murphy sniffed, glanced around shiftily and then replied. "What say we lose these first, huh?" He waved his tied up hands about.

"No. Again." Bellamy growled, tired of hearing Murphy complain about that.

"Hey, if we get attacked out here, I have nothing to defend myself with."

I shrugged. "That's really not our problem." Murphy turned to shoot me a nasty glare. Finn walked up to him, probably having enough with all of his protesting and cut his wrists free, before walking off again. Bellamy and I gaped at him for doing something so stupid.

"Thank you." Murphy said to Finn, throwing me a smug look.

I jogged up to Finn, with Bellamy close behind me. Giving him a light shove, I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why would you do that?" He threw me a warning look, but did nothing else.

"Hey, she asked you a question." Bellamy fumed beside me.

"It was your idea to bring him." Finn replied.

"Yeah, because he's the only one who's seen where the grounders keep their prisoners."

"Then we probably shouldn't let him be defenceless out here. We can handle Murphy."

Bellamy scoffed. "Better hope so."

Murphy cockily sauntered up to us. "So, do I get a gun now?"

I looked at him for a moment before rolling my eyes and walking off, leaving a disgusted 'ugh' in my wake. I caught back up to Finn and grabbed his arm, turning him to face me as we carried on walking. "Finn, I really don't think it's a good idea."

"It's done now, Elena." Finn snapped, resulting in me flinching away from him. His expression softened ever so slightly. "I'm sorry, I just want to hurry up and find Clarke."

"And the others." I corrected him.

"What?" He muttered offhandedly.

I stopped in my place. "Find Clarke _and the others._"

Finn cleared his throat. "Right, that's what I meant." He turned back to Murphy, who was right behind us with a stupid, smug grin on his face. "So, which way now?" And with that they quickened their pace and left me behind.

A hand placed itself on the small of my back. "What was that all about?" Bellamy enquired.

"He's so intent on finding Clarke, it's like he's forgotten about the others."

He gently pushed me forward, making me walk with him. His eyes watched me closely as he responded. "Love will do that to a person."

"I guess."

* * *

Murphy had informed us that we were getting closer to the prison camp. Bellamy had now taken the lead, keeping his gun up and ready to shoot.

We heard voices in the distance and Murphy darted over to Bellamy' pushing him to the floor. "Everybody down. Down." We crouched down low and saw a few grounders. "This is it. Told you I'd find it."

Using his gun to get a clearer view, Bellamy started looking around at the area. "I see nothing but grounders." Bellamy announced. "Our people aren't here."

Finn grabbed Sterling's gun and looked at the grounders. "Wait a minute. They've got stuff from our drop ship."

I followed suit and watched the grounders closely. "He's right, they're the seat belts from the drop ship."

Bellamy glanced over at me and Finn. "So, maybe they know where our friends are."

"Yeah, or maybe they killed them already." Murphy mumbled, earning him a slap upside the head from me.

"Son of a bitch." Finn whispered from his place next to me.

"What is it?" Bellamy asked. We both looked at the grounders again.

"The guy with the one eye. Around his neck."

My eyes widened when I saw Jake's watch, which normally resided with Clarke. "They definitely know something about the whereabouts of our friends." I said through gritted teeth.

Bellamy shot me a look of confusion. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"That guy has Jake's watch…uh, well, Clarke's watch. It never leaves her."

"Elena's right, she wouldn't give that up without a fight." Finn agreed. "And neither will we."

"Okay, Finn, Elena, you're with me." Bellamy took charge of the situation. I was quiet surprised that he didn't want me to stay out of sight with the others, but soon remembered that he liked to be able to keep an eye on me. "You two, stay here, out of sight. This thing goes south, take out the other grounders, but don't shoot the grounder with the watch. Copy?"

"Copy." Monroe and Sterling repeated.

"What about Murphy?" Monroe asked, sending Murphy a glare.

Murphy rolled his eyes at her and looked at Bellamy. "Yeah, do I get a gun now?"

"Something like that." Bellamy grabbed Murphy's jacket and shoved him upright, clearly showing that he would be coming with us.

* * *

Bellamy had Murphy hit two stones against each other, producing a loud clacking noise, to draw the attention of the grounder we wanted, while the three of us stayed hidden. We heard footsteps approach and I carefully leaned round the tree to see that it was in fact our target who was approaching. I watched as he got closer to where Murphy was and nodded to Bellamy, who would tell Murphy to hide. The grounder finally reached where Murphy had been previously and Bellamy crept up behind him, hitting him over the head with a thick branch, knocking him out. He fell to the ground with a loud thud and we all went to crowd around him, until Bellamy put an arm in front of me, preventing me from doing so. I looked up at him with a frown, but he slowly leaned down next to the grounder and made sure he was fully unconscious, before he allowed me to get close enough to take the watch and pocket it.

"We need to take him somewhere quiet." Bellamy told Finn, who nodded.

"I know just the place." He answered as he helped Bell carry the grounder, leading the way.

* * *

Finn lead us to an underground bunker where they had tied the grounder up. I scanned the room and noticed all the art supplies. "The art store." I whispered. Finn's eyes shot to me and widened at my words. I merely shrugged at him. "She tells me everything." The grounder suddenly groaned from his place on the floor and Finn was quick to pull him up onto his knees. The grounder assessed the situation he was in with an emotionless stare. I sighed, knowing that it would be better to start the interrogation off calmly and took the lead. I pulled the watch out of my pocket and stood in front of the grounder. "Tell me where you found this." It was a demand, not a question, but it wasn't said harshly.

He looked up at me, keeping his emotionless expression. "It was outside of your camp."

I shook my head and gave him an exasperated look. "Not possible. Clarke never takes it off." I heard Bellamy pacing behind me and Finn shifting around and knew that they were getting anxious. I bent down in front of the grounder with a pleading look. "Please, just tell me where the girl who was wearing this is, otherwise my friends will hurt you."

"Your girlfriend's much nicer than you are. You should follow her example." I heard Murphy comment, obviously aiming it at Bellamy. I could just picture the death glare Bellamy was probably aiming at him.

"It was outside of your camp." The grounder repeated himself.

"Stop lying to me." I hissed. "Where is she?"

"There was no girl."

Bellamy let out a low growl and placed a hand on my shoulder, signalling for me to let him take over. I stood up and let him do as he pleased, knowing that he was much more intimidating than me. He took the watch from my hand and glared at the grounder. "Where is the girl who was wearing this watch?"

"I never saw a girl." The grounder answered. This was getting us nowhere.

"Well, what about the others? Did you see anyone?" I asked, getting desperate.

Finn grabbed my wrist and forced me to face him. "Don't tell me you believe him what he's saying about Clarke."

"I don't know what to believe, Finn, but this isn't getting us anywhere!" I snapped. His grip on my wrist tightened in retaliation. "Let go of me." I struggled against him, but he didn't let go.

"We need to know what he knows about Clarke."

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" I tugged myself away from him again. "Let go!"

"Finn, enough!" Bellamy grabbed Finn's wrist and pulled his hand off of me, pushing me behind him. He turned back to the grounder. "Where are our friends? You took them, we know you did. Just tell us where."

"This is a waste of time, he's not gonna give you the answers you want." Murphy rolled his eyes at us.

Finn grabbed his gun from where it rested on his wist. "Murphy's right. We're wasting time." He smacked the grounder the gun, demanding that he answer the question. The grounder grunted and swayed slightly.

"Hey." Bellamy shouted, holding him back.

Finn didn't back down though and continued screaming at the grounder. "Where's the girl who was wearing the watch?"

"Finn, stop! You don't want to do this. Trust me." Bellamy tried to reason with Finn. "There are some lines you can't uncross."

Finn calmed down, panting heavily and moved away from Bellamy, who had returned to my side and started rubbing circles on my back. I don't know which one of us he was trying to calm down, me or him. However, Finn wasn't done. He charged at the grounder before Bellamy could stop him and punched the grounder repeatedly. "Where's Clarke?" Bellamy reacted fast, grabbing Finn and pulling him back. "Where is she?" Finn demanded again, shoving Bellamy off. Bell grabbed hold of Finn once more, but Finn had had enough. He pulled his gun on him. "Back off!" Bellamy backed off slowly, showing Finn that he meant no harm.

Out of instinct, I lurched forward and grabbed Finn's wrist, pushing it away from Bellamy so that the gun was no longer aimed at him. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Finn?" I yelled, trying to knock some sense into him. "You need to calm down, you not doing us any favours by acting like this!"

He stared at me for a minute with a frantic look in his eye that truly terrified me. He was completely losing it. Tearing his hands out of my grasp, he aimed his gun at the grounder's head.

"Put down the gun, Finn." Bellamy's voice held a tone of worry and panic, but I could tell he was trying to remain calm.

"3 seconds. Two! One." Finn snarled at the grounder, gun at the ready.

"Okay! I'll tell you." The grounder answered reluctantly, terrified. "Your friends are east of here. The village where we take our prisoners of war."

"East? Where? How do we get to them?" Finn asked. I saw his hand shaking as he continued to hold the gun up to the grounder's head.

"I can draw you a map, but you should hurry. Soon they'll outlive their usefulness."

"Get him something to draw a map." Finn commanded, finally taking the gun away from the grounder. Monroe walked up to the grounder with a piece of paper and a pencil, cautiously handing it to him. A look passed between me and Bellamy; one of shock and disbelief of how Finn was acting. Finn wanted peace with the grounders, he had always argued their case, never wanting to pursue conflict with them even when we clearly had no choice. It was like losing Clarke had flipped some kind of switch inside him, causing him to be reckless and ruthless.

Murphy walked over to me and Bellamy and muttered out, "you thought I was the crazy one, huh?" before walking away again.

I shook my head and ran a hand through my hair. "I really hope we find them soon."

* * *

Bellamy was crouched down, looking over the map that was on the small table. "Gather up the gear. We're leaving." He stood to his full height.

"What about him?" Sterling questioned, referring to the grounder.

"For now, we leave him. We'll deal with him when we're done." Bellamy answered.

"What if he escapes? He knows exactly where we're going." Murphy pressed.

"Shut up, Murphy." I groaned, having enough of his little comments and questions.

Bellamy clenched his jaw and gave Murphy an authority filled look. "We're not killing him."

"I'm not really seeing another option here. If we don't take care of this now, this is gonna blow back on us and you know that."

"He's unarmed, Murphy." Bellamy argued.

"He's a Grounder." Murphy glanced at me, Monroe and Sterling as we remained silent. "Really? Come on. Tell him."

"I don't know…" Monroe trailed off, unsure of who to agree with, but clearly reluctant to go against Bellamy's orders.

Instead, Murphy turned to me. "Use your head, little Princess. You know I'm right. He's gonna tell his people everything. We're as good as dead. Our friends, too."

"Murphy, look at him." I gestured to the grounder. "He's tied up and badly injured," I took a moment to glare at Finn for that, "so even if he did escape, it would take him a while and by that time we'll have reached the village."

Murphy grumbled at my response. "He's a grounder, they have proven to be pretty tough. Tough enough to escape here with head injuries."

"I'm not fighting with you on this!" I finally exploded after dealing with him all day. "We aren't killing him and that's final."

Bellamy cut in before Murphy could argue with me again. "Okay, end of discussion. Look, you want him, you gotta go through me."

"And what exactly happened to you, huh?" Murphy got up in Bellamy's face. "You're talking like you've never killed a grounder before."

Bellamy shoved him back a bit. "That was in battle. This would be an execution." A gunshot suddenly went off, startling everyone. Bellamy placed his hand on my head and duck me down and into his side. Everyone else had ducked down out of instinct as well, but it seemed as though there was no need to as when we all looked to where the noise came from, we saw the grounder fall dead to the floor with a bullet wound on the side of his head. Everyone remained silent, shocked at what had happened.

"Let's get moving." Finn said, putting the gun away. He snatched the map up from the table and marched past us with Murphy following him soon after. Sterling and Monroe snapped out of their daze and grabbed their guns before following the other two, leaving Bellamy and me behind.

My eyes moved over to the grounder and then up to Bellamy. "What's happening to him? He's a completely different person."

I watched as Bellamy picked up his gun and turned to me. "I don't know, but we need to keep an eye on him."

* * *

**How dramatic! Hope you've enjoyed this chapter, think I'm going to go and start the next one. Until next time~**


	17. Many Happy Returns

**Elena's POV**

I'd been keeping a close eye on Finn, who seemed to have calmed down. We were running through the forest again, making sure to keep covered by the trees.

"Everyone, eyes peeled. We're in grounder territory." Bellamy instructed from the front of the line we had formed.

Murphy panting and slowed to a walk. "Everything is grounder territory, alright?" Admittedly, he has a point. "I can't keep running. We don't even know if the guy Finn killed was telling the truth."

Finn walked over to Murphy and grabbed his jacket, pulling him forward. "Keep moving."

I got between them and got Finn off of Murphy. "That's enough, Finn. I get that we have to get there quickly, but we're not gonna be able to do much if we're all exhausted. We've been on the move for hours with no rests." I argued, noticing Murphy's nod of approval.

"We don't have time for a rest, Elena!" Finn yelled in my face.

"Yes, we do!"

"You heard what that grounder said. 'They'll outlive their usefulness.'"

"Yeah, I did hear what he said, Finn, because I was there. I was also there when you shot him in the head!" I was getting really, really sick of his attitude. I pushed past him to stand by Bellamy, not wanting to argue with Finn anymore, but he grabbed my wrist and turned me to face him.

"Look, you think I wanted to do that? He would have told his people we're coming, and by the time we got there, our people would be dead. Maybe that's something you can live with, but I can't!"

I yanked my wrist out of his grip and stepped backwards away from him, meeting Bellamy's chest. Bell placed his hands on my shoulders and he spoke to Finn calmly, trying to diffuse the tension between the two of us. "You know Elena wants to save the others as much as you do, Finn, but she's right, we also have to look after ourselves in order to help the others. I get it, okay? Back there you did what you think you had to do to rescue our people, but you are not yourself right now, and we can't be out here with another loose cannon."

"You guys." Monroe murmured, raising her gun. There was a faint buzzing sound coming from behind us and we turned to find flies hovering over various bodies.

Bellamy started moving forward slowly. "Fall in." We all raised our guns and followed after him.

"Where the hell did they come from?" Murphy asked.

Bellamy glanced back at him. "From the Ark." There was nothing but bodies in sight as we walked through the path and I lifted a hand to my mouth as I looked out at them with a heavy heart. All they wanted was a new life, a fresh start, and instead they ended up dead. We kept walking and ending up on the edge of a large crater, which had formed from the impact of the station that had crash landed there.

"It's a rough landing." Murphy commented sarcastically, though his words didn't have much bite to them.

Bellamy sighed and turned to leave. "There's nothing we can do for these people. We gotta go."

The others followed and I went to leave, but stopped when I heard a quiet whimpering in the distance, a girl crying and sobbing like crazy. "Guys, wait!" I carefully kneeled down on the edge of the crater and peered over the edge. There was a dark-haired girl stood on a very small ledge, clinging on for dear life. "There's a girl down here. We have to help her!" They came back over to where I was and looked over the edge.

"Mel?" Sterling yelled.

"Help me!" Mel cried out again.

"You know her?" Murphy sneered at Sterling.

Sterling briefly glared at Murphy, before turning to me, Bellamy and Finn. "Shut up, Murphy. She's my friend. We have to do something."

I nodded in agreement. "And we will."

"Help me! Sterling, please!" Mel's sobbing was getting increasingly louder. Sterling ran over to the gear and tried to find something that could help us.

While he did that, I decided to try and calm her down, figuring she'd have a better chance of holding on a bit longer if she wasn't sobbing and shaking. "Mel, look at me." I saw her lift her head and look at me. "I'm Elena, we're going to help you, okay? Just hang on a little longer."

"We can't stop." I heard Finn whisper to Bellamy.

Bellamy gave him an incredulous look. "This isn't a grounder, Finn. We have a rope."

"You saw her. She'd never be able to hold on to it. We'd have to lower somebody down. It'll take time that we don't have. I hate this as much as you…"

I cut Finn off. "Do you? She needs help now, Finn, and we can give it to her." I looked to Bellamy for agreement, but he remained silent.

"Just hold on! Just hold on, Mel." I heard Sterling say.

"We'll come back for her. Okay?" Finn assured Bellamy, ignoring me.

I noticed Bellamy was actually considering it. "Bellamy, you can't be serious! She needs our help."

His eyes flickered to me, but he shook his head and turned away. "We're moving out."

By this point, Sterling had already found the rope and tied it to a broken tree trunk in order to lower himself down to Mel. Finn pushed to the front and tried to stop him. "Wait! Sterling!"

Murphy snickered. "Well, it looks like we're taking that break after all, huh?" Finn walked off with his head in his hands, probably very pissed off, while Murphy made himself comfortable on the ground and Monroe watched over Sterling.

I stood up and walked over to Bellamy. "I can't believe you were really going to leave her here! Finn was right when he said that she wouldn't have been able to hold on to the rope herself, which means that she wouldn't have been able to hang on to the wall much longer either. I know that saving our friends is our top priority, but that girl is still one of us, Bell!"

Bellamy groaned and grabbed my face in his hands. "I know, I know, I do. It's just that, Finn's right it will take time and we are very limited on that."

My voice lowered to a whisper as I avoided his gaze."I don't want to think the worse, Bell, but they could already be-"

He cut me off with a brief kiss. "I know."

"I'm almost there! Once I have her, pull us up!" Sterling shouted, making everyone gather round the edge again.

Murphy grinned a smug grin and looked at Bellamy. "Well, I'd say he's heard one too many of your motivational speeches."

"Shut up, Murphy." Bellamy muttered bitterly. I saw Sterling reach his hand out to Mel, who took it hesitantly. However, the ledge Mel was standing on broke suddenly and she let out a shriek as she held on to the branch above her head. Sterling fumbled about with the rope, surprised as the sudden jolt. He caught his footing and held his hand out to her again, which she grabbed. He was about to pull her to him when he suddenly started falling. We noticed the knot had come undone and the rope was now flying past us. We all tried to grab it, but it was to fast and Sterling fell.

"Sterling! Sterling!" Bell screamed. We all breathed heavily as we watched him hit the rocks below him, most certainly killing him. Monroe stepped back, head in hands, overwhelmed by the sudden death of her closest friend.

Bellamy crouched down and spoke to Mel, much like I had done before. "Mel! Mel, hold on. Focus on me. You can do this."

"No!" Mel's frame wracked with sobs as she clung to the branch.

"Yes, you can. You're strong."

"I'm not strong! Stubborn, maybe." Mel called back.

"So be stubborn a little longer. I'm not gonna let you die, you hear me?" I was relieved to hear Bellamy say that. He was going to help her.

"Okay." I heard Mel reply.

"We're out of rope." Finn argued, wanting to leave.

"So we make a new one." Bellamy replied harshly.

Finn gritted his teeth. "If anything happens to our friends, when we could-"

Bellamy cut him off, voicing my thought from earlier. "We don't know if we could save our friends. For all we know, they may be dead already. We've all thought it. But what we do know is we could save this one girl."

"Sterling was one of us. She was his friend. I'm in." Monroe declared.

Murphy sighed and looked over at us. "How do we do it?"

"We make new rope from the wreckage. Go find wires, seat belts, anything." Bellamy answered.

The two nodded and Murphy patted Monroe's shoulder comfortingly. "Come on." They ran off to find the materials.

My eyes fell on Finn, who looked annoyed. "It's what Clarke would've done," was all I said before I walked off to find supplies.

* * *

A new rope had been formed from materials from the wreckage. Bellamy had volunteered to be the one who would be lowered. I was reluctant, but I knew Mel had to be saved and that Bellamy would do it anyway, so with a chaste kiss I help tie the rope around him and then went to help the others hold on to the rope.

"Alright, ease it out slowly." Murphy instructed us. He was at the front of the line. I stood behind him with Finn and Monroe behind me. We fed the rope, carefully moving towards the edge.

"Just hang on. I'm almost there. It's okay. I got you. I got you. Just put your arms around me." I heard Bellamy say between grunts.

"I can't." Mel whimpered.

"Yes, you can. It's okay. This will hold. I'll get you up. I promise. Okay?"

"Okay."

We were pulled forward slightly, signalling that Bell had successfully got hold of Mell. After a moment of silence, Bellamy called up to us. "I got her! Pull us up!" We all regained our bearings and started to pull them up. Even with the 4 of us, it was a lot of work.

Murphy decided now was time for one of his little comments. "Don't you worry, Bellamy, I won't drop you."

"Just pull, Murphy." Finn grunted. "Pull, Murphy!" Just as Finn muttered that, the seat belts came apart, sending all of us but Murphy to the ground and leaving Murphy to try and hold on the both ends.

Murphy screamed in pain as he was being tugged forward, but refused to let go. "Little help!" Finn and I quickly jumped up and grabbed the front seat belt. We all tried our best to pull them up, but started to be dragged forward.

"Oh, no! Pull! Pull!" Finn repeated.

"What the hell is happening up there?!" Bellamy yelled.

"Just hold on!" An arrow suddenly shot past me and landed in the ground, followed by many more arrows.

"Grounders!" Monroe bellowed.

Finn grabbed his gun and handed it to Monroe. "Monroe, cover!" She took the gun and started shooting.

"How many are there?" Bellamy asked.

"We can't see them!" Finn replied.

"Monroe, they'll be in the trees!" I called out, trying desperately not to lose grip on the rope. Clearly the world is against me as a spear was thrown and Finn only just managed to pull me away in time for me to not be impaled. Unfortunately, that resulted in us both letting go of the seat belt. "No!" I screamed as I saw Murphy struggling with the seat belt, being pulled forward. I crawled forward and grabbed it again. I heard Monroe grunt in pain and looked back to see her lying with an arrow in her leg.

"We're gonna need to cut her loose. We can't do this." Murphy groaned. "Bellamy, you got to cut her loose!"

"No way!" Bellamy protested.

"Cut her loose!" The sound of a foghorn being blown filled the air, making everyone go quiet with realisation. Finn and I shared a look of panic.

"Acid fog." I heard Bellamy say from below us.

"Monroe, get back on the rope!" Finn commanded. "Come on!"

She dragged herself over to us and helped us pull them up. Eventually, after a lot of panicked tugging, they appeared over the edge. Mel crawled forward and fell on top of Finn, muttering quiet, relieved 'thank you's, while Bellamy fell into my arms, burying his face in my neck.

"Thank god." I muttered, hugging him tightly and kissing the top of his head. He pulled back slightly and looked at Murphy, who sat clutching the seat belt tightly. He gave Murphy a nod of gratitude, which was returned.

"We have to take cover from the fog." Finn sat up quickly.

"Bellamy." A very familiar voice called out.

Bellamy stood up with a disbelieving smile. "No, we don't."

"She blew the horn." Murphy nodded to himself.

Bellamy began walking towards her. "Octavia." He said breathlessly. They walked up to each other and grabbed each other in a tight hug. I smiled at the sight.

Once they pulled back, Octavia's eyes drifted towards me and they filled with tears. "Elena!" She cried out, running over to me and throwing herself into my arms.

"Octavia! I'm so glad you're okay." I wrapped my arms around her so tightly I thought I might break her, but I couldn't help it, I was just so relieved that she was safe. I started stroking her hair as I felt her body shake. I knew she was crying, though she was trying not to. I pulled back and gently wiped her tears away with my thumbs. "Where's Lincoln?" I asked quietly.

Her lips trembled. "He's gone." She whispered back.

"Octavia, I'm so sorry." I kissed her forehead and hugged her again.

She welcomed the hug for a moment, before pulling away and regaining her composure. "It's okay. I'll-I'll be fine."

Bellamy came over to us and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm just relieved I've my got my two girls back."

I smiled at the two Blakes before letting out a sigh. "Monroe, let me take care of your leg." She nodded and sat herself up on a piece of the wreckage. "Bell, can you take a look at Mel, it's likely she has some injuries that need tending to."

"Sure." He went off to do that.

I crouched down beside Monroe. The arrow was still lodged in place and I'd have to pull it out. "I need to pull the arrow out, alright?"

Monroe nodded in understanding. "Please, just get it over with." She braced herself for the pain as I wrapped my hands around the arrow.

With a firm tug, I pulled the arrow clean out and threw it to the side. Monroe hissed from the pain, but didn't react much. O appeared beside me with a piece of material that I could use as a bandage. "Thanks, O."

"Lena, the arrow I was shot with had poison on it, this one could have be poisoned to." She informed me with a worried frown. Everyone but Finn, who was leaning on something looking at the map the grounder drew, had already gathered round us again, waiting for me to finish up and leave, so they all heard O's words of warning.

I bit back a groan. There was nothing I could do about the poison here, we'd need to go back to camp, but that means stopping the search for our friends. Everyone looked at me expectantly, awaiting my answer. I shot Bell hopeless look. "There's nothing I can do about poison here. We need to get her back to camp. Mel too."

Bellamy nodded his head, but it was Finn who answered me. "I know." He came over to us and handed me a replica of the map.

"We'll meet you as soon as we can." Bellamy told him.

"I know." Finn walked off with a gun.

"Parting, such sweet sorrow, right?" Murphy remarked, sauntering past us, after Finn.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Bellamy asked.

"Come on, Bellamy, you know if I go with you, they'll just lock me up again." Bellamy grabbed a gun and threw it towards Murphy.

"Really?" Octavia snorted.

"Watch his back." He warned. Murphy nodded and ran off. Bellamy turned to Octavia with a hint of a smile. "We can't get them home without you."

O smirked that smirk which only a Blake could posses. "Of course you can't."

I let out a small laugh and shook my head at the siblings. "Alright, you two. Let's get going."

* * *

**Wow, I feel like I'm on a bit of a roll! Well, I have to go and get ready for work now, but I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. I'll be back with another one very soon~**


	18. Human Trials

**I'm back with a new chapter for you guys!**

* * *

**Elena's POV**

It had been almost a day since we had saved Mel and left the area. Bellamy was leading, helping Monroe walk and Mel had remained close to them the entire time, probably feeling safe around Bellamy. I was a little behind them with Octavia walking beside me. "How you holding up, O?" I asked quietly so the others couldn't hear our conversation.

"I'm hanging in there. I just wish I had saved him," she frowned, blue gaze downcast, "but I couldn't." She looked up at me, holding back tears. "I tried, Lena, I really did, but it wasn't enough."

"Hey," I reached out and grabbed hold of her hand, pulling her closer to me, "don't give up yet, O. There's still hope. Lincoln is strong; he's a warrior. He will fight to be by your side again, just like you fought to be by his. I truly believe that."

She beamed at me and rested her head on my shoulder. "You're the best, you know that."

Letting out a small bubble of laughter, I leaned my head on hers. "I try." I noticed Bellamy glance back at us, a big grin making its way to his face when he saw how we were walking.

* * *

Finally, the gate leading to Camp Jaha was in sight. O gaped at the sight of the Ark on the ground, just as I did when I first saw it. "Woah." She breathed out, seemingly impressed.

I squeezed her hand and quickened my pace, resulting in Octavia doing the same. "Don't be surprised if they raise their weapons at us, they're on edge at the moment." I warned. We made it to the gates and they opened, revealing guards aiming their weapons at us. We walked through and they took all of our weapons from us, making me roll my eyes at them.

Abby walked up to us and I could see the relief flooding her eyes as she looked over all of us. She settled her stare on Mel. "I know you. Factory station. Where are the others?"

Mel looked at the ground and answered her sadly. "There are no others."

"Found her a day from here. No survivors. Lots of supplies." Bellamy informed Abby.

"Get her to medical." She commanded a few of the guards, who also helped Monroe get to Medical.

Someone suddenly threw themselves at me and I stumbled backwards a bit from the impact of it. Arms were wrapped tightly around my waist, clearly not wanting to let go anytime soon. The bright blonde hair was enough for me to realise who it was, filling me with relief. My arms wrapped tightly around the person's waist as I buried my face into their neck. "Clarke…" I whispered breathlessly, voice thick with emotion.

"I missed you!" I heard her say. We pulled back and gave each other weak smiles, eyes filled with tears.

"You're okay!" I nodded to myself, finally comprehending the fact that my best friend was right in front of me, safe and sound - for the most part. She nodded vigorously, before turning to Bellamy and throwing her arms around him, shocking us all.

"Now, there's something I thought I'd never see." O muttered with a grin, making me laugh slightly.

"Tell me about it."

It was O's turn for a hug. "I'm glad you're okay." She told Clarke.

"You, too." Clarke replied.

"How many are with you?" Bellamy asked.

Clarke frowned. "None. Where's Finn?"

"Looking for you."

* * *

Clarke had informed us all about Mount Weather and the mountain men. I couldn't believe what she had told us. This entire time there were people living there with fancy clothes, fresh food and technology that allowed them to continue living normally within the mountain, never needing to leave. Not to mention their way of serving exposure to radiation. Safe to say that when Clarke told us about how they were using grounders for their blood and were most likely going to use our people in the same way, Bellamy, Octavia and I were furious. Not only that, but the reapers were being controlled by the mountain men, making O fear for Lincoln's life even more as the reapers would have taken him back with them to Mount Weather. Abby had been informed about all of this and called a council meeting, which I thought was strange as that was the chancellor's job, which was my father's position.

"Abby!" I called out to her, grabbing her just before she went to he meeting.

She stopped walking and turned to me. "Elena, what is it?"

"Where's my father? As chancellor, he needs to hear all of this."

Abby shifted around nervously, something which is very unlike Abby. "Sweetheart, your father is no longer chancellor. I am."

"What? Why? What happened? Where is he?" I knew I was overwhelming Abby with questions, but I couldn't help it.

"A couple of days ago we captured a grounder. Your father asked the grounder to take him to their leader so he could save the missing kids and arrange some sort of peace treaty."

"What?" I exclaimed, panicking to the max. "No, it's too dangerous, they'll kill him! Abby, we have to go after him."

"Elena, calm down. It's something we'll discuss in the meeting, so go and sit with your friends and I'll let you know what's going on." Abby spoke in her calming motherly tone and gently pushed me over to Bellamy and the others.

"But-"

"Go." I sighed and walked off.

* * *

"What is it?" The question left Bellamy's lips as he caught sight of my probably pale and definitely frowning face.

"My father has gone with a grounder prisoner to talk to their leader about saving the others and arranging a peace treaty." I explained, running a hand through my hair.

His eyes widened. "What? That's-"

"Suicide. I know." Habitually, I bit my lip out of stress.

"Hey, c'mon," Bellamy took my face in his hands and made me look at him, "we'll go after him."

I shook my head. "We need to go after Finn and Murphy. I think Abby might suggest sending a team after my dad. I just… This shows that he's changed for the better. He gave up his role of chancellor and is out there risking his own life to save the others, something he wasn't willing to do at first. And if I lose him without being able to make amends- if the last moment I spent with him was an argument I-" I cut myself off, not wanting to continue with he thought. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I shouldn't be thinking like that. I should be focusing on getting Finn and Murphy back and heading to Mount Weather to save the others.

"Elena-" Bellamy started, but I quickly spoke over him, coming to a kind of resolve.

"I'm okay, Bell." I gently pulled his hands off of my face. "Abby will send a search team after him, I know she will."

Bellamy grabbed my hands. "It's okay to be worried."

I gave him a weak smile. "I know, but I also know what my priorities are. Our friends are in danger and we need to act quickly. We need to meet back up with Finn and Murphy, tell them on what's going on and make a plan to save our people."

"Well, we'll wait until the meeting's over and talk to Abby. Hopefully, she'll give her permission for the guards to reissue us the weapons we had."

"What if…what do we do if she doesn't let us go after them?" I questioned hesitantly, not really wanting to imagine that Abby would betray our trust like that.

Bellamy shrugged. "Then we'll do what we do best; sneak out. I hope it doesn't come to that though."

"Me too." I agreed as he kissed my forehead and pulled me into him.

* * *

The council meeting was over and Clarke, Bellamy and I were speaking with Abby. She had informed us that she would be sending a search team after dad, but not after Finn and Murphy.

"What? No. You can't just cut them loose." Clarke protested angrily.

"How could you do that? You're the one that sent them out there, Abby!" I added with a glare.

Abby sighed at us, giving us a look of pity. "Girls, we simply don't have the manpower to send out two separate rescue missions and protect our camp."

"Mom, they're in trouble. They're either gonna get themselves killed or they're gonna make things worse with the grounders, who we need to get our people out of Mount Weather." Clarke argued with her mother.

"I know you feel this is unfair. But our priority has to be with chancellor Kane if there is any hope for peace."

"If you wanted peace, you shouldn't have killed the only grounder who was gonna help us."

"I'm sorry. The decision's been made." Abby turned to leave, but quickly turned back once Bellamy spoke up.

He had been silent for the most part, leaning against the doorway, listening in. "You're sorry? Finn and Murphy are out there looking for your daughter with guns you gave us, and now she's home, you're just going to abandon them?" He let the words sink in for a moment. "If you can't spare the guards, we know the terrain, we have a map. We can do it ourselves."

"Absolutely not." Abby shouted.

Clarke reached out to her. "Mom."

"I just got you back."

"Well, that's just not a good enough reason." I stated bitterly, making Abby look at me.

"Yes, it is, Elena. I don't want to lose either of you and neither does your father."

Jackson ran up to us, interrupting our dispute. "Abby, I'm sorry. We need you in medical."

Clarke narrowed her gaze at her mother. "You better go."

"Byrne? No one leaves this camp." Abby demanded, storming off to medical.

"Yes, ma'am." The blonde guard from before answered, walking off to inform the others.

Clarke turned to me and Bellamy. "We're gonna need guns."

* * *

We all went separate ways to discreetly grab some gear and organised to meet up behind the drop ship, away from prying eyes. Bellamy and I were the first ones to arrive.

"Guess we're really sneaking out after all." I commented with a snicker.

Bell smirked at me. "It is what we do best."

"Where's O? I didn't see her, though there's no doubt in my mind she'll argue her case about why she has to come with us."

"I asked Clarke to look out for her, but I haven't seen her either." I tilted my head away from him slightly, trying to hide my smirk. Mr Overprotective Brother was letting his little sister come with us on a potentially dangerous mission. "What's with that look, Princess?"

"Oh, nothing really. It's just that you letting O come with us without a hint of protest." I teased him.

He rolled his eyes at me. "She'd just follow us and get herself into trouble anyway." He defended himself.

"Are you sure it's not just because you've finally realised that she's growing up?"

"Hey! She'll always be my baby sister and I'll always protect her."

I let out a quiet giggle at his declaration and leaned up to kiss him briefly. "I know, I'm just teasing." I murmured against his lips, before pulling away.

He rolled his eyes again and pulled me back to him. "You call that a kiss?" He planted his lips back on mine in a fierce, heated kiss. His hands found their way to my hips and mine tangled themselves in his hair, each of us pulling the other as close as possible.

"Okay, lovebirds, that's enough PDA for now." We heard a taunting voice call out. We pulled apart breathlessly and turned to see Raven dropping a bag of guns at our feet with a smirk. "I scored you a couple extra clips."

"Because you're awesome." I grinned at the girl.

"Because I'm awesome." She repeated, smirk ever-present on her face.

"Hey," Clarke appeared from behind Raven, "my mom's in surgery and the team going after Kane just left. We should, too."

Bellamy nodded in agreement. "Did you find Octavia?"

"No. I found you." Octavia ran up to us from the opposite side Clarke had appeared. "I'm not letting you leave here without me."

I gave Bellamy a smug look. "Called it." He merely rolled his eyes at me, before looking back at his sister.

"Octavia…" Clarke began.

O cut her off with her argument. "Finn and Murphy are headed for Lincoln's village. I've been there. Have you? Has she?"

Bellamy gave his sister an expectant look. "You done?"

O shrugged sheepishly. Bellamy nodded to Clarke, who handed him a bag, which he handed to O. "What's this?"

"Your pack." Bellamy answered. The siblings shared knowing grins. "Lead the way." O stepped forward towards the fence when Raven stopped her.

"Whoa. Not so fast, Pocahontas!" Raven used her crutch to demonstrate the power of the electric fence. The fence crackled and lit up, making O jump back.

Clarke's eyes widened as she turned to Raven with an annoyed look. "I thought you said it was handled."

"It is." Raven assured her, holding a radio up to her lips. "Shut her down, Wick." The radio beeped twice and Raven touched the fence again. This time there was no electricity produced. "Handled." We all nodded and O climbed through the fence, leading the way. Bellamy went next and kept the wires parted for me to climb through. I gave him an appreciative smile and we jogged over to Octavia, keeping low.

* * *

It was dark out and we had stopped to rest for a while. O and Clarke were led down asleep and I was about to join them when I saw Bell still up, looking out into the fire. I quietly got up and sat beside him on the log. "You need to get some rest, Bell."

He sighed and grabbed my hand in his, lacing our fingers together. "I'll be fine, go to sleep, Princess."

I shook my head and leaned on his shoulder. "If you're not sleeping, I'm not sleeping."

I heard him scoff. "So stubborn." He muttered, but I knew he wasn't mad. A kiss was placed on the top of my head.

"Everything has gotten so crazy." I commented, taking a moment to glance at O and Clarke.

"I know." Bellamy murmured his agreement. I kept my gaze on Clarke, letting myself marvel at the fact that she had managed to escape a place as enclosed as Mount Weather. "What are you thinking?" I felt him lean his head against mine.

"When I last saw Clarke, it was a few hours after the explosion had gone off, presumably killing you. I felt numb, I hadn't been taking any notice of anyone around me, but I'm pretty sure Clarke remained by my side. And then I woke up and everyone was just gone." I said in a hushed tone, not wanting to wake the other two. "I really thought the grounders had them."

"We all did."

"But all this time, we were being watched by the mountain men. They took our friends. They bleed out grounders and our friends are probably next. When we think we've finally figured this place out, something happens and we right back at square one. Will we ever figure it all out? Will we ever just be able to live with some kind of established routine where we don't constantly fear for our lives?" I knew I was asking hard hitting questions, questions that Bellamy didn't have the answers to, hence his silence. We remained silent, hands interlocked, leaning on one another, until Clarke shuffled around, opening up her eyes. She gave us both a small smile.

"Last time I saw you, you were closing the drop ship door." Clearly, Bellamy had taken the time to think about everything that had happened as well. He saw the guilt that washed over Clarke's face. "Had to be done." He reassured her.

She stretched and sat up. "Did you guys get any sleep?"

I shook my head. "Too many thoughts whizzing around my head."

Bellamy sighed and gave his answer. "I'll sleep when we find Finn. You haven't seen him, Clarke. Losing you, the others, the war, it changed him. He executed the grounder that drew us the map. Pulled the trigger without even blinking and walked away."

Clarke was shocked to say the least. "That doesn't sound like Finn." She denied.

"I'm worried about him, Clarke. I've never seen him like this. When he shot the grounder, it was like he wasn't even there; like he was empty." She swallowed, the information she was taking in probably making her feel sick to her stomach.

"I saw what he was capable of, and still I let him go with Murphy and 2 automatic rifles." I squeezed Bellamy's hand, knowing that he was beating himself up about that and that he'd blame himself if anything bad happened.

Clarke shot him a sympathetic, but knowing look. "I'm sure that had to be done, too."

"When we got back to the drop ship and no one other than Elena, Raven and Murphy was there, we assumed it was the grounders."

Clarke immediately replied, trying to offer him some comfort. "Of course, you did. You couldn't have known it was the mountain men. No one could have."

There was a stretch of silence until Bellamy spoke up again. "How long until chocolate cake turns into being hung upside down and drained for their blood?"

Clarke shrugged. "I don't know, but we don't have much time."

"Okay. First we find Finn, then our people in Mount Weather."

"And Lincoln." Octavia added, making us all look at her. "Think we've slept long enough." She declared, standing up and grabbing her pack. We all nodded in agreement and got ready to leave.

* * *

It had grown light and Octavia was leading us, constantly glancing around the are, making sure that she was in the right place. She had her sword out and at the ready in case we were attacked.

We climbed down a steep bit of land, before Bellamy brought out the map and checked it. "This is it." Octavia paused, seeing a statue. "Which way to the village? O?" It was like she was frozen.

She spoke up with a shaky voice. "The reapers came from there." She pointed at the statue. Her lips trembled as her eyes filled with tears, and I knew that she was remembering everything she had been through. She face Bellamy. "I couldn't save him, Bell. I couldn't save him." Her brother took her into his arms, stroking the back of her head comfortingly as she cried into his shoulder. It broke both our hearts to see her like this. Screams suddenly sounded out from within the village, making us stiffen with worry. Octavia pulled away from Bellamy. "We have to go." She wiped away her tears and we all ran towards the village. The sound of a gun being fired repeated filled the air as we quickened our pace. There was complete and total chaos when we arrived, more screams sounded out and Murphy could be heard screaming Finn's name, trying to capture his attention. We eventually made it to the middle of the village, but all stopped in our tracks as we took in the sight before us. There were multiple people laying on the ground, either dead from a bullet or severely injured. The rest had been herded into a small enclosure and Finn was stood in front of it, armed with a rifle. He stared at Clarke. It didn't take a genius to put all the pieces together and figure out what had occurred. O was the first to move, running into the village and crouching down beside two of the grounders. Clarke, Bellamy and I slowly walked forward, looking around at all the grounders. I looked at Bellamy, shock written all over my face as I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I tried to speak, but couldn't really find the words to say. I knew he didn't know what to say either as he took my hand and pulled me to him.

Finn smiled and walked towards Clarke. "I found you." She shook her head and backed away.

* * *

**How do you feel season 2 is going so far? What do you think might happen? Let me know! Until next time~**


	19. Fog of War

**Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has read this story, continued to read this story and has reviewed this story! Thank you so much, I can't even begin to explain how touched I am by the fact that people actually want to read and continue reading this story. It makes me so happy :D Anyways, on to what you guys came here for, here's the new chapter!**

* * *

**Elena's POV**

The walk home was silent, no one dared to say anything. I don't think anyone knew what to say, I know I didn't. Clarke stayed near me the entire way back, assumably still in shock. She kept her sight aimed at the ground, refusing to look at Finn. On the contrary, Finn couldn't look away from Clarke. He had a frown etched into his face, knowing that Clarke was avoiding him. I couldn't help but let out a sigh due to the whole messy situation, which mad Bellamy reach over and take my hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb soothingly. We shared a weary look, weakly smiling at one another. Both of us knew that we didn't really have time to dwell on what happened; we had friends to rescue. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get rid of the image in my head of Finn firing his gun repeatedly though.

* * *

Luckily, we got back without being scorned too badly. Clarke, Bellamy and I had sat at a table with much-needed drinks in our hands, looking at the map of Mount Weather Clarke had drawn. She had gone through how we were going to get it, but it seemed quite elaborate and difficult.

Bellamy had his dark eyes fixed on the map, examining it closely and trying to picture it. He licked his lips subconsciously, which was something I noticed he did when he was deep in thought, just like how I play with my hair when I was nervous or thinking something through. "Okay, tell us again."

Clarke was patient with us, giving us time to take in her detailed explanation. She didn't mind repeating herself as it meant that we had a better chance of understanding the layout and succeeding in helping our friends. "It's a labyrinth. We got to the dam through this tunnel. It's all connected to the mine system. That's our way in." She explained, pointing at various places of map.

"Sure, if we can get past the Reapers and the Mountain Men." Bellamy sounded doubtful and I didn't blame him. The reapers were strong and the mountain men would probably be watching us the entire time.

I leaned forward on the table. "How would we get in without being spotted?" My hands wrapped around my cup as I stared into it, seeing a faint, blurry reflection of myself looking back at me in what little light was provided by the camp lights and fires. "I mean, they must have cameras everywhere in that place." My eyes moved to Clarke's face to gauge her reaction. Cerulean orbs glared at the map as if it had personally offended her. "Didn't think about that, huh?"

Her eyes flickered to mine as she pouted slightly. "No, not really."

Silence stretched over us until Bellamy broke it. "I swear to God, if your mom doesn't sanction a mission soon, I'm going by myself." He declared, sitting back slightly.

"You won't be by yourself." Clarke agreed, growing restless.

I nodded and turned to Bellamy with brief smile. "Yeah, we'll definitely be with you." He returned it and nodded at the two of us. Clarke glanced at something behind us, making us swivel round and find out what it was. Finn came jogging out of the Ark. "Guess the inquisition's over." We turned back to Clarke. Bell leaned forward, lowering his voice. "How's Finn doing, anyway?"

Clarke shrugged, noticeably uncomfortable by the fact that Finn was approaching us. "I haven't talked to him since we got back. I don't know what to say." She admitted. "He just kept shooting." She avoided our eyes and I could tell she was reliving the moment.

"We're at war, Clarke. We've all done things."

I shook my head at his words. "This is different, Bellamy. They were innocent people." I knew my words weren't a great comfort to Clarke, but it was the truth. They were innocent people and war doesn't excuse their deaths.

"Hey." Finn greeted us, standing by our table.

"Hey." Bellamy replied, seeing that Clarke and I wouldn't even look at him. "Next round's on me." Bellamy offered, grabbing our cups as he stood up and left.

I was reluctant to leave Clarke alone with him, but I knew they would have to talk eventually and the sooner the better. "I'll come with you." I said hurriedly, running after my boyfriend.

* * *

"Why are you excusing what he did?" I asked Bellamy, trying to keep my tone neutral.

He sighed and met my gaze. "Because it's true, we have all done things."

"This is a little different, Bell. He wouldn't stop. He killed innocent people."

"You think I don't know that, Elena?" He snapped at me, surprising me. "I do, but we are at war and we can't afford to have any disharmony among us at the moment."

I looked down to avoid his gaze. "You may be able to look past this, but I don't think I can." I looked up at him and spoke through gritted teeth. "And neither will the grounders."

"You think they'll retaliate?"

I shrugged, wanting nothing more than to just sleep and hope this mess just goes away. "I don't think they'll just sit around, crying about it. They like to take blood for blood, they must want some kind of revenge for it, whether it's against Finn or all of us."

Bellamy nodded and exhaled, placing the cups down and pulling me into a hug. "I'm sorry for snapping at you." He murmured into my hair, kissing my shoulder lightly.

I placed a kiss on his neck before burying my face in it. "It's fine. We're all on edge. I meant what I said, though."

"I know." I felt his chuckle vibrate through his chest. "It's one of he things I love most about you."

I frowned, peering up at him, thoroughly confused. "What do you mean?"

He grinned down at me lovingly, almost making me feel quite shy about the affection he was showing me. "You speak your mind without regret."

"I speak my mind when I'm right, which is a lot." I grinned back cheekily, stepping up on to my tiptoes and placing a chaste kiss on his lips.

He hummed in response and leaned down to continue the kiss when I pulled back, pouting when I jokingly pushed him away. "I guess."

* * *

Once we had gotten another drink and sat back down, Clarke ran over to us, spewing out words at the speed of light. All I got were the words 'Mount Weather' and 'more guards'. Bellamy looked at me, just as lost as I was, but probably thought that I could understand Clarke when she was like this. "Woah, Clarke, slow down. Say that again."

She took a breath and nodded. "We're going to Mount Weather. They're jamming our communication system, which means there may still be other stations out there with more guards to protect the camp. We need to take out the main tower that is broadcasting the signal."

My lips parted in surprise. "And Abby is actually letting us go?"

"Well, yeah…" I knew there was a catch.

"But?"

"She's coming with us."

"Okay," Bell spoke up, "I can deal with that as long as we get to do something to help."

I nodded in agreement. "Me too."

"We leave as soon as it's light." Clarke informed us. "But I'm gonna need you guys and Octavia to do something for me."

* * *

Just as Clarke said, we left at the first sign of light. We were trekking through the woods with Finn leading us.

"I can't believe they let Finn come." Octavia muttered through gritted teeth. I agreed with her, but remained silent on the topic.

"He's the best tracker we've got." Bellamy replied. He raised his voice as he spoke to the rest of the group. "Don't forget to look up. The grounders use the trees." He advised. He really was a natural-born leader. "That's how we lost John Mbege."

* * *

Bellamy, O and I had managed to slowly and subtly make our way to the back of the group before sneaking off. The mission for Abby and her guys was to destroy that tower, but for us it was to find a way into Mount Weather.

"According to Clarke, before the bombs, there were buildings everywhere here. I'm guessing some of them had access to the bunker. So we're looking for ruins, anything that's manmade, okay?" Bellamy relayed the information Clarke had given us as we all searched the area.

"Hey! Blake! Kane! Let's go, right now." We all halted and probably wore the exact same frustrated and pissed off look when we heard the guard shouting at us. We turned around and faced the three guards who were giving us disapproving looks.

Bellamy rolled his eyes. "In case you've forgotten, we're not under your command."

Officer Scott heaved a sigh at Bell's defiance. "Don't make us do this the hard way."

"Come on, Scott, 47 of our people are prisoners in this mountain."

"And that's why we're out here."

I scoffed at that. "No, it's not. Not for you guys at least. Abby brought you out here to help destroy the tower jamming our connections and find the other stations of the Ark. Our only goal is to save our friends; our people."

Bellamy turned around to continue our search. "C'mon."

"Bell, Lena…" O murmured, staring down at the ground. Hoards of bugs were scuttling in one direction, as if trying to escape something. I'd seen this before, but with birds and I was trying to recall where I had seen this. As I finally remembered, heart rate increased and my eyes widened, a sick feeling pooled in my stomach. "Acid fog." My voice was thick with worry. I looked up and saw the deadly green-yellow fog coming towards us.

"We need cover! Now!" Bellamy shouted, running over to the guards, who had the packs.

I saw Octavia gaze at the bugs again. She frowned and followed after them. "O, where are you going?" I called out, following her. The bugs lead to a small, slightly secluded are which clearly lead to something. We both shared a look of confusion, before kneeling down on the ground and clearing the thick weeds and dirt away from sort of metal thing.

"Elena! O! Get back here!" I heard Bell yelling out to us.

Octavia turned back to beckon her brother. "Bell! There's something in here. Maybe it's the ruins." We both stood up and scrapped the wall free of the vines and mud.

Bellamy shouted over to the guards, who were still messing with the tents. "Hey! Hey! Over here! Let's go! Come on! Come on!"

It was a race against time to find the handle, but fortunately O came across it. "I found it!"

Bellamy quickly took her place and pulled the door open after a bit of difficulty. He ushered us in before calling out to the other guards. "Hey! Quick! Get inside! Come on, move! Let's go!" One of the guards made it in time, but the other was too late. The fog encased him, making Scott panic and try to go after him, but Bell knew it was too late and pulled him back in. He finally slammed the door shut, saving us from the fog. We all got out the torches we were carrying in our packs and lit them up. Bellamy shined his on O and I and gave us a once over, making sure we were alright. I held back an eye roll at his protectiveness. Once he was happy that we were healthy, he began to lead us. "Let's go."

"Where are we?" Scott asked.

"Looks like a garage." Bellamy answered.

O shined her torched all over the area. "More like a tomb."

Bell ignored his sister and turned to Scott. "Look, I'm sorry about your man, but we need to find an access door to Mount Weather."

"Hey, not so fast." Scott stopped Bell from walking off.

"Sir, that fog could keep us pinned down for another-" Bellamy cut himself off when he saw Scott holding out a gun to him. Scott gave the other guard a look and the guard held another gun out to me.

"We'll split up. Be back here in 15." Scott said. We nodded and began to leave when he called out to me. "Oh, and Elena?"

I looked at him, raising a brow. "Yeah?"

He cracked a weak smile. "Don't tell your father about this." He joked wearily.

I snorted at that. "You got it."

"Okay, be safe."

* * *

"This place is so creepy." I could feel chills running up and down my spine and not the good kind.

"You can say that again." O replied, just as disturbed as me.

"Just stay close." Bellamy instructed. Screams sounded out, causing us to jump and get our guns ready. While walking very cautiously in the direction of Scott and the other guard, we heard music playing out. I'm sure in normal circumstances (whatever they may be) the song would have been lovely to hear, but as it is now it did nothing to help calm my nerves. There was a horrible wet, sloppy sound coming from in front of us.

"What's that?" O whispered.

Looking down, I saw 2 guns. "Guys…" I said just as quietly as O. They looked down and saw what I was looking at. The sound from before suddenly stopped when we shined our torches slightly to the right and I felt sick when we saw two grounders with their mouths caked in blood. They had been devouring the blonde guard. With a lot of speed, they were up and lunging towards us, but Bellamy and I shot them before they could reach us.

"O," Bellamy started. She looked at him questioningly. "Take this."

O took the gun and aimed it as we started moving forward again. Other than the creepy music, there was only one noise filling the are, which was the same horrible sounding noise before, telling us that there were still reapers in here. This time he was hovering over Scott with his back to us. I couldn't help but feel that there was something familiar about this reaper. Bellamy was ready to pull the trigger when the reaper turned around and looked up, grunting. "Don't." O stopped her brother, not believing her eyes. I couldn't either. "It's Lincoln. Lincoln. Lincoln, it's me. It's Octavia." He ignored her and began running at us. We all backed away, but he caught O and threw her into one of the automobiles that surrounded us.

"Octavia!" Bellamy yelled. Lincoln walked away from her and approached me and Bellamy. I didn't want to hurt him, but what else could we do? I readily aimed my gun, however I was surprised when Octavia shot Lincoln in the leg. This made him falter, giving Bellamy enough time to knock him unconscious with his gun. We ran over to O and helped her get up. "Get up. Get up. We need to get somewhere safe." O fell slightly, but started running with us.

* * *

Panting heavily, we hid inside one of the automobiles. O sounded like she was having a panic attack. "He's a Reaper? How is it even possible? He just looked right through me." I wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. The sound of glass being smashed rang out and we looked up, seeing a figure trudging along.

"Shh." Bellamy hushed her.

O ignored him though. "How?" Lincoln grunted and turned to look at us. Bellamy wrapped his arms around me and O, pulling us towards him and away from Lincoln. Speaking of Lincoln, he was looking right at the window we were behind. He looked truly terrifying. Blood was dripping down his chin, his eyes were souls, completely hollow. He looked like a monster and my heart went out to O, because I couldn't even imagine how I'd feel if I were in her shoes and Bellamy was in Lincoln's. "Did he see us?"

"I don't know." Bellamy replied. Lincoln beat his hand against the glass, smearing blood on it, but continued on his way. We all breathed a sigh of relief. "Just listen to me. We'll get him back. I promise."

* * *

After coming up with a plan to save Lincoln, we got out of the automobile and surveyed the area. "You sure you're ready for this?" Bellamy asked O. She nodded, a determined look in her eyes. "Okay. Draw him in. I'll do the rest." Bellamy went around the back of the vehicle and O and I began shouting out to Lincoln.

"Lincoln!" O yelled.

I joined her. "Lincoln!"

"Can you hear us?" He appeared from around the corner, holding a knife. "I'm sorry."

As soon as he Lincoln got close enough to us, Bellamy appeared from behind the vehicle. "Hey!" Lincoln turned to him and fell to the floor, panting and groaning, when Bellamy shocked him with on of the guards' weapons.

"Now what?" Octavia asked, slightly teary from watching Lincoln go through so much pain. I grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.

Bellamy crouched down beside Lincoln and looked up at us. "Now we take him home."


	20. Long Into an Abyss

**Elena's POV**

We had decided to go back to the drop ship, avoiding putting anyone else at risk. Octavia was pacing back and forth non-stop and Bellamy had got to work on restraining Lincoln, who was still unconscious. I sighed and let my eyes dance around the dimly lit drop ship, taking in it's dull silver colouring. This thing had nothing to give to me but bad memories; Bellamy almost being hung, me almost getting shot and killed by Murphy, setting off a huge explosion which I thought killed Bellamy and Finn, Raven almost dying and now reaper Lincoln… It doesn't exactly have a great track record.

Bell finished up with the last restraint and looked at me. "I'm done. You can look over him now."

I nodded and cautiously walked over to Lincoln. I crouched down in front of him, lifting up the material that covered his leg to get a clear view of the bullet wound that O had given him. "The bullet is still inside his leg," I turned around and looked up at the siblings, who had been watching me like hawks the entire time.

"Okay, you can fix that, right?" Octavia asked in a hopeful tone.

"Yes, but I'm going to need a med kit." I let go of the material and stood up, glancing at Bellamy. My mouth opened to say something, but the words didn't have the chance to leave my lips as Lincoln's eyes shot open and he released an animalistic snarl, lunging at me. His hands reached out to grab hold of me and I let out a surprised shriek, barely managing to jump away fast enough. I turned back to look at Lincoln and make sure I was far enough away and accidentally stumbled back into waiting arms. Bellamy gently pulled me behind him as he watched Lincoln closely, anticipating the possibility that he may escape. With my heart racing at 100 miles per hour, I swallowed nervously and grabbed Bell's hand, turning him to face me. "Get Clarke, she said that the mountain men control the reapers, she might know how. Tell her to bring a med kit."

Bellamy, of course, immediately protested, obviously not wanting to leave his girlfriend and sister alone in a room with a grounder-turned-reaper who could break the restraints and attack us. "There's no way I'm leaving the two of you alone with him."

Grabbing his face in my hands, I made him look directly at me. "Bell, it's okay. Lincoln is restrained and you won't be long. Look, O doesn't want to leave him and I need to try to examine him again to figure out what the hell they did to him."

His hands enclosed my wrists as he shook his head at me. "You're not going near him again."

"I'm just going to look over him with one of the torches, I promise. Now go, before he loses too much blood." With one last glance towards Lincoln, Bellamy nodded, kissed my forehead and began climbing down the ladder.

* * *

The growling and snarling of Lincoln filled the air. I'd never seen anything like it, it was like he had completely lost his humanity, it was pure animal instinct. His eyes were blood-shot and darted about constantly like that of a wild animal. He was still covered in blood and thrashed wildly against his restraints. Octavia had huddled herself in the corner of the room, trying to block out the noise. She looked hurt, as if she had received a physical blow and I had no idea what to say to her. I couldn't promise that he'd be okay, because I didn't know if I could save him, but I didn't want to just leave her there. She looked so lost and vulnerable that all I wanted to do was gather her up and take her away from everything. Instead, I rummaged through one of the bags and pulled out a torch. Hesitantly, I stepped a bit closer to Lincoln, resulting in him trying to lunge at me again, but being tugged backwards. Inhaling shakily, I slowly lifted the torch up, shining it over his body. I could see blood seeping through his clothing from the bullet wound, but other than that, there was no indication of how he became like this. I wanted to let a frustrated groan, but remembered O sitting in the corner, watching and hoping that I'd save him. No luck yet, however, when I the light passed over his face, he shied away from it. I frowned at his odd behaviour. Given that the light wasn't particularly bright or very near to him, it seemed that he had become very sensitive in regard to light. I bit my lip, thinking back over everything I knew about reapers. They usually come out at night or stick to searching dark places, so it seems that they're all sensitive to light and light sensitivity is a very common effect of drugs. "He was drugged." I muttered. I hurriedly switched the torch back on and ran over his arms and neck, the places where they would be most likely to inject him. Sure enough, on his neck were needle marks. He growled and thrashed about again, growing more and more irritated by the minute.

"Have you figured out what's wrong with him?" O asked in a hopeful tone.

I turned to her and nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he was drugged, but I don't know what kind of drug they-Ah!" A sharp tug on my hair had me screaming in pain as I was yanked backwards into Lincoln's arms. One wrapped around my waist, keeping me in place, and the other wrapped itself tightly around my neck, cutting off my air supply. Out of instinct, my hands came up to grab his arm and pull it off, but he was too strong. I choked and spluttered as I fought against him, gasping for air. I looked up and noticed that he had broken free of his restraints.

"Lincoln!" O screamed, trying to help me, but he shoved her into a wall.

I mustered up as much strength as I could and threw my head backwards into his nose, causing him to let go of me. Greedily gulping up as much air as I could, I began running over to Octavia, but Lincoln grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards him again. Before I could even register what was happening, a fist launched itself at Lincoln's face as a set of small hands dragged me away from him. My eyes trailed from the hands to the person's face and my eyes were met with a pair of blue ones. "Clarke," I breathed out, still breathing heavily. Though I was incredibly happy to see my friend, my attention was quickly diverted to a large blur flying past us. I gasped, out of shock this time, and staggered over towards Bellamy, who Lincoln had thrown to the floor. "Are you okay?" My hands were placed on his shoulders as he vaguely nodded before scrambling to get back up as Lincoln attempted to walk over to us. Unfortunately for him, his feet were still shackled and he fell. While he was distracted by trying to release himself, Bellamy had managed to snatch up one of the guards' tasers and ran at Lincoln with it, letting out a loud battle cry. Lincoln heard him coming and had managed to break from of his restraints. He stood up and grabbed Bellamy by the shirt before Bell could hit him, throwing Bellamy to the floor.

"No!" Clarke and I cried out. Clarke, who hadn't really known what to do with herself up until now, ran to try to help Bellamy as Lincoln repeatedly punched him. Lincoln merely shoved her out of the way and continued hurting Bellamy.

Panic rose within me, making my stomach churn. Desperately, I tried to search for something within reach that could be used as a weapon. My eyes scanned the room and landed near Octavia on a loose pipe. O noticed my eyes fixated on the pipe and got the message, picking it up and swinging it at Lincoln. The first hit distracted him long enough for me to run over and drag Bellamy backwards and the second hit knocked him unconscious. Bellamy panted heavily, sitting upright as I brought my hands to his face and examined it. He was bleeding, but nothing was broken and he didn't seem to be in too much pain. He wearily rested his head on my shoulder. Octavia kept her eyes on Lincoln with guilty look on her face. "You did what you had to, O." I told her gently, hoping it would offer her some kind of comfort.

Clarke stood up and walked over to some of the chains. "We need to restrain him again."

"Yeah, but we need him lying down this time." She looked up at me, confused, "he's got a bullet in his leg and we need to get it out." I explained. "He's lost a lot of blood already, so we need to do it soon."

I felt Bellamy nod his head against my shoulder. He remained there for a second, collecting his thoughts, before he began standing up. "Okay, let's get him chained down, then you can do whatever you can to help him."

* * *

Lincoln was tied down to the floor, a lot tighter than he was earlier. He was just coming to when Clarke was taking a look at his wound. While he was no longer snarling, he was grunting, though it seemed to be more from pain rather than out of hostility.

"Hold his leg down." Clarke instructed as she focused on the wound.

O sat by Lincoln's head, shushing him and trying to offer some comfort. She fed him some water, but he turned his head to the side and spat it out. A hurt look washed over her face, but she quickly got rid of it. "I'll get some more." She muttered, standing up.

Bellamy went to stop her, knowing how hard this all was on her. "O." She looked up at him. "Once the drug is out of his system, he'll be okay." He assured her, or rather tried to assure her.

She shook her head at him. "You can't protect me from this one, big brother." She left the drop ship. Clarke looked at me and I nodded, holding down Lincoln's leg. She took a deep breath and pulled the bullet out, resulting in a loud, agony filled scream from Lincoln.

I pursed my lips looked anywhere but Lincoln's face, trying not to flinch at the sound of a friend in pain. I'm glad O wasn't here to watch this. Clarke finally managed to pull the bullet out and tossed it to one side. I reached into the medical box and pulled out everything that I'd need to stitch the wound up. Clarke moved out of the way and I replaced her, getting to work on Lincoln's leg.

Bellamy had been quiet the entire time, observing us both. "I think your moms would both be proud."

Clarke sighed. "They'd know how to save him." She said bitterly.

"But we figured out that he was drugged, that's something." I reminded her, trying to see the positive side of things. "As long as we can keep him alive long enough for the drug to pass through his system, he'll be fine."

"And if we can't do that?"

"That's not an option."

O suddenly appeared up the ladder with a grounder climbing up behind her. He was large, like most grounders were, and had long hair along with the fundamental tribal tattoos. Bellamy immediately jumped into action, grabbing a gun and aiming it at the grounder. "Bellamy, don't. He's Lincoln's friend and their healer." O quickly quelled her brother's anger. Bellamy didn't get a chance to argue back as Lincoln started shaking violently and uncontrollably. Foam began to form at his mouth.

"He's seizing again." Clarke panicked. Bellamy hesitantly lowered his gun and nodded towards Lincoln, allowing the grounder to pass. O crouched down beside me, holding Lincoln holding as the grounder brought out his own kind of medical kit and picked up one of the bottles. "What is that?"

The grounder began bringing it up to Lincoln's mouth and whispered "yu gonplei ste odon."

Clarke narrowed her eyes at him. The grounder tilted the bottle and watched as the substance slowly began to drip. Clarke put her hand out, intercepting the liquid, with a loud "wait!" All eyes turned to her, confused about why she wouldn't let the grounder help.

The grounder pulled his blade out, but Bellamy was quicker and time this gun at him. "Back off. Right now."

"Yu gonplei ste odon." Clarke muttered to herself. "It's what they say before death. He's not trying to heal him…he's trying to kill him." Clarke explained.

"Nyko? Is it true?" O asked. So that's his name.

"Yes. Death is the only way." He answered solemnly.

"No, there has to be a way to help him!" I protested. My eyes flickered to O. "I won't let him die!"

"I have never seen someone be saved!" Nyko snapped, raising his voice at me.

Steps sounded out, alerting us of someone's presence. Finn appeared at the ladder. "We have to go. The camp's leaving."

"You!" Nyko shouted, launching himself at Finn and pinning him tot he wall. He kept yelling something in his own language.

"Get off him!" Bellamy warned, aiming his gun.

"You slaughtered my people. Elders. Children. Innocents." Nyko was strangling Finn, who was quickly losing air.

"Nyko, you're killing him." I heard O say.

Nyko ignored her. "Blood must have blood!"

O had gotten in between Bellamy and the grounder. "Get out of the way!" Bellamy yelled.

She shook her head furiously and shrieked "Bellamy, you're not shooting him!" Clarke was looking around for something and I had no idea how to calm this situation. Though I knew if it wasn't sorted soon and we didn't focus our attention back on Lincoln, he would die.

I gritted my teeth and ran a hand through my hair, groaning as I decided to trust them to deal with the situation while I returned to Lincoln's side. As soon as I was settled by his side, he stopped moving. "Oh my god," I murmured to myself. I leaned down, listening out for any sign of breathing, but there were none. I immediately performed CPR on him.

"Lincoln!" I heard O cry. She appeared at my side and watched on. A loud gasp from Lincoln signalled that I had performed CPR in time and managed to bring him back. O let out a large sigh of relief.

I breathed deeply for a minute, trying to calm the adrenaline I felt. "Told you I wouldn't let him die." I gave O a weak smirk.

She threw her arms around me as thanks, placing a kiss on my cheek. "Thank you."

"He was dead. How did you do that?" Nyko looked on at us wide eyed.

"You've tried bringing Reapers back before?" Clarke questioned him. He nodded in reply.

I caught on to what she was thinking. The grounders clearly hadn't tried to bring them back after their hearts had stopped working. "And they died just like this?" He nodded again.

"What is it?" Bell spoke up when we didn't say anything else.

"We've got something worthwhile to offer." I answered.

"We can stop the attack." Clarke added. She turned to me. "I'll go and talk to my mom, you stay here and keep an eye on Lincoln."

* * *

"What can we do to help him?" Octavia spoke up after a long silence. She and Bellamy were both looking to me for answers. Nyko was standing off to the side, unsure of what to do.

Their stares made me feel nervous and uncomfortable. "Nothing, but keep him comfortable. I didn't complete my training, so my knowledge is limited, but I do know he's going through withdrawal."

"From whatever drug they gave him."

"Yeah and considering we don't know how much of it he's had, I have no idea how long he'll remain in this stage. We're lucky he's a fighter, because he's going to have to fight hard."

O looked so unbearably sad. "There has to be something you can do, Lena. Anything!" She persisted.

"O, stop." Bellamy chided his sister lightly. "You know that if she could do anything else, Elena would've already done it by now."

I reached out and grabbed her hand. "Abby will be here soon, I know she will." As if by magic, the hatch opened and Finn appeared along with Abby.

"Oh, thank god." O exclaimed as soon as she saw Abby. "Where's Clarke?"

Finn's answer was vague. "Trying to stop a war." With the commander, I assume.

Abby sat beside me after shaking off her shock and took a look at Lincoln's eyes. "Pupils are unresponsive. Tie off his arm. Tight as you can." She instructed O, who happily obliged, wanting to save Lincoln. She tied some rope around his arm. "Thanks to the supplies your brother found, Lincoln might have a chance." Abby lifted up a syringe.

"What's that?" O inquired.

"This will bring down his fever." She injected Lincoln, who jolted and started groaning and convulsing again. "Hold him down!" Abby shouted.

"What's happening? Why isn't it working?" O asked, panicking.

"His heart stopped." Abby informed us. She started forming CPR. Nyko walked over to us and kneeled by Lincoln's side. "You're their healer?" He nodded. "Tilt his head back. Pull his chin down to open his airway." Nyko did as he was told, but it wasn't working. Lincoln wasn't waking up like he did last time. "Come on. Come on." Abby muttered to herself, but it was no use. She ceased her movements.

"You're stopping. What's wrong?" O had tears in her eyes.

Abby shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry. He's gone."

I knew O wouldn't accept that, hell, I wasn't accepting it. "No, it's not possible. You're wrong!" O replaced Abby as soon as the doctor moved out of the way and started performing CPR herself. "Come back. Lincoln."

"Octavia." Bellamy murmured, his heart breaking at the sight of his sobbing sister. He walked over to her and crouched down beside her.

The sight of O crying her heart out brought tears to my eyes as I stood up and whirled round to face Abby. "There has to be a way to bring him back, Abby, please!" She remained silent, reaching out to hug me. I stepped away from her, shaking my head. "No, we can bring him back." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a blonde head appear at the hatch with someone else, but I ignored it as I sat back down by Lincoln. I was vaguely aware of O crying into her brother's chest, but didn't bother to pay any attention to my other surroundings. There had to be something we could do to save Lincoln. There was still time. All we need to do is get his heart working again. CPR didn't work, but I remember watching my mom bring someone who was dead back to life when CPR failed. Abby had to know what she did. I turned back to the others and found them at a stand still with a group of grounders. Everyone had a weapon, whether it was a sword, a dagger, a gun, a taser… wait a second.

"Please. You don't have to do this." Clarke pleaded with one of the two female grounders.

She had cold, piercing blue eyes that glared at Clarke, fuelled with anger. "You lied. And you're out of time." She spat.

"Defibrillation." I whispered to myself. I lifted myself up as quickly as I could, swiping the handle of the taser out from Abby's hold and slammed it down on to Lincoln's chest. It shocked him, but he didn't move.

"Hit him again." Clarke demanded. I did as she said and, after a beat, Lincoln opened his eyes, gasping for air.

Octavia crawled forward and watched as Lincoln turned his head to look at her. "Lincoln." She whispered with a smile on her face.

Lincoln looked up at her. His eyes were no longer bloodshot and looked much clearer now. "Octavia." I couldn't help but smile and shed a tear at the sweet reunion. The grounders withdrew their weapons, in complete shock at what had just occurred.

Bellamy walked over to me, grabbed my face and pressed his lips to mine. "Your mom would be _so_ proud of you." He said quietly with a big smile on his face. The words brought even more tears to my eyes as I nodded, not having the ability to say anything at the moment.

* * *

**That's it for this chapter, hope you've enjoyed it. I'm not a doctor, nor am I training to be one so I just kind of winged it with the doctory stuff and hoped it made sense! As I'm writing this, it's quite late so I apologise if there are grammar/spelling mistakes or if it's just not that great in general, but I really wanted to get it done and up of you guys and I'm busy for the next couple of days, so yeah. Also, I was wondering if any of you guys would be interested in me writing a short one shot type thing that shows how Bellamy and Elena first met, so just let me know if you think that would be a good idea or not. If you do want me to write one, it will be posted on here, so it'll be easy to find. Until next time~**


	21. How Bellamy met Elena (One shot)

**So, a few of you were interested in reading a one shot about how Bellena met and lo and behold I found sneaky bits of time to write one for you guys! **

**A/N - This isn't particularly relevant, but for those who may have wondered when her mother was floated, Elena's mother was floated about a month or so before Elena turned 17, so a just over a month before Elena and Octavia were put in the skybox.**

* * *

A young girl, about 10 years of age, skipped through the halls of the Ark, a smile present on her face. She was a pretty little thing with long curly locks of chocolate brown hair, which bounced with every skip, and big, doe brown eyes that sparkled. Her name was Elena Marie Kane, daughter of Marcus Kane, the head of security and next in line for chancellor, and Serena Kane, one of the head doctors on the Ark. Elena was what most on the Ark would call privileged, living in one of the bigger, spacious apartments. However, as long as she had her parents, her friends and her most prized possession, she didn't care much for the material things. Clutched tightly in her small hands was a slightly worn looking book. It looked large compared to the petite girl and had 'Fairytales' written on it in cursive. This was Elena's most prized possession. Ever since she had started reading, the book had stayed with her no matter where she went. It was given to her by her mother, who had had it in her family for a few generations. Though the brunette was usually a happy child, she was in a particularly good mood. She was returning home from visiting her mother, who had been on her lunch break. The two read the book together as they often did. Serena had loved the book as a child (and even now as childish as it seemed, though she'd never admit that to her husband as he would never let it go) just as much as Elena did. 'You're never too old for a good fairytale' was what her grandmother had told her and she had always made sure to drum the thought into Elena's head, not wanting her daughter to lose her childish innocence. Elena hummed the tune she had often heard Clarke, her best friend, hum as she continued on her way, thinking about what kind of princess she wanted to be. Her mother had always said that she could be whatever kind of princess she wished. She had finally decided what she wanted to be like, which had put an extra bounce in her step. Growing up as a Doctor's child had encouraged Elena to crave for the ability to help others, so she had decided that she would be a smart, kind and helpful princess, who would provide care for those in need of it. With that resolution, Elena excitedly rushed home to tell her father. Marcus had always thought his daughter to be too much of a day dreamer but, just like any father would, he caved when he saw how happy his little girl was. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that reality isn't a fairytale - not yet, anyway. She took a shortcut to get from the medical bay to her home. Being an adventurous child had led to Elena knowing the Ark's hallways like the back of her hand. She knew every nook and cranny of the Ark, which made for a good game of hide and seek; it took Wells and Clarke forever to find her, so much so that she often had to reveal herself as they would begin to grow tired and want to play a new game. She took delight in winning the game every time and getting to watch the two huff and puff out of frustration. It was when she skipped round a corner that she bumped into something that cause her to stumble backwards and land on the floor. Her beloved book tumbled out of her hands and onto the ground in front of her. She let out a gasp and scrambled forward to grab it when a hand much larger than her own reached out and picked it up.

"Fairytales? Where did you get a book like this?" A relatively deep voice questioned from above her.

The girl pouted and got up from the floor. "My mom gave it to me." She lifted her eyes to look at the face of the person who had taken her book. The first thing she noticed was a splatter freckles that were spread across the person's cheeks. Further up were a pair of pretty, dark brown, almost black eyes. The offending person was a boy, probably about 15, who had thick, dark hair that was kept short. He was quite tall, wore a grey shirt with blue sleeves and was currently intently focusing on her book. His name was Bellamy Blake. "Do you like fairytales?" She asked, rather animatedly. She was excited at the prospect of having another person to talk about them with, despite having no idea who the boy was.

Bellamy was quite taken aback by the girl's forwardness. Normally when you bump into to someone you both share a quick 'sorry' and continue on with your lives, but not this girl. She had an air of innocence about her but, judging by her forwardness, was an adventurous soul who was always looking for answers. He cleared his throat, remembering she had asked him a question and gave her a vague answer. "No, I mean- I don't really know any. Not ones like that, anyway." He preferred history and the stories that came with it such as the story of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. He doubted this girl would know anything about that though.

"Would you like to read some with me?" All thoughts about running home to her father had left Elena's mind the second she saw how interested in her book the boy looked.

Once again, her brashness surprised him. The girl was too trusting, which for some unknown reason made him worry for her because really you couldn't trust anyone on the Ark. They were all looking out for themselves. Her naivety made him feel an instinctive protectiveness towards the petite brunette in front of him, the same kind that he felt towards Octavia. Bellamy mentally weighed out his options in his mind. On the one hand, he should probably be getting home, which was where he had been headed, to watch over Octavia while his mother worked, but something about this girl made him want to humour her. Besides, his mother could cope for a little longer and now that he thought about it, Octavia would love to hear all about the stories held within the girl's book. "Sure, I guess."

A smile that Bellamy was pretty sure could light up the entire Ark appeared on the girl's face. "Okay, let's go!" The too trusting girl grabbed his big hand in her own small one and began dragging him to one of the quiet lounges **(A/N - no idea what they would call this, just the area where people go to hang out with each other or relax)**, taking another one of her short cuts. However, she stopped short about a minute later and turned to look back at him. Bellamy, who had allowed himself to be dragged along by the 10 year old, thought she was finally going to shake him off and tell him to leave her alone because she didn't know him. It shocked him when she peered up at him with a bashful, slightly embarrassed look on her face. "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Elena Kane."

Bellamy barely managed to stop his jaw from dropping at her name. "Kane? As in the head of security Kane?"

"He's my dad!" She answered, bouncing on the spot happily. Bellamy couldn't believe it. The head of security had such a reckless daughter who went around talking to strangers as if they were old friends. He knew that Kane had a kid, but he never expected her to be like this. The man was known for his strict ways, he knew how harsh the real world could be and yet here his daughter was reading about princesses and castles. The stark contrast between father and daughter almost made Bellamy laugh out loud. A sweet voice broke him out of his reverie. "What's your name?"

Snapping back into reality, he gave Elena his name. "Bellamy Blake."

"Bellamy." The girl murmured to herself, testing how it felt to say his name. After a decisive nod, she beamed up at the boy. "Well, Bellamy, I'm going to teach you _all_ about fairytales!" Needless to say, when Bellamy got home that evening he told Octavia the story of a princess called Elena. And that, dear readers, is the story of how Elena Kane not only befriended Bellamy Blake, but won over his affections.

* * *

**Not had enough yet? Want more? How about the moment Bellamy knew he was in love with Elena?**

**A/N - Elena is 16 in this and Bellamy is 21. **

"There's my favourite cadet! I knew you'd be here." A beautiful brunette teenager grinned down at a handsome young man, who was clad in the customary guard uniform. The teenage girl was none other than Elena Kane. 6 years down the line she still had long curly locks and big doe eyes, but she was now taller and more shapely. Elena's adventurous personality had remained the same and though she was still as reckless as ever, she wasn't naive like she had been as a child. She also had Bellamy looking out for her, warding off anyone who may be bad for her.

The girl had taken him by surprise when she planted her hands on his shoulders and reached down to kiss his cheek. A chuckle escaped his lips. "Where else would I be?" For the most part, Bellamy hadn't changed too much. His voice was deeper, he had grown taller ('as if you weren't tall enough already' Elena had muttered to herself the day she pointed out how much taller he had become) and he was more muscular, thanks to his guard training. Other than that, his eyes were still as dark and mysterious as before, his hair was still short and he still had a boyish charm about him. What had changed was their relationship. They started off as strangers who bumped into each other, which turned into acquaintances who would meet a few times a week to discuss fairytales (Bellamy never told any of his friends about this), which evolved into an unlikely friendship in which they spent more and more time together. For 6 years they had been best friends and confidents; they counted on one another and were always there when the other needed someone to talk to. Bellamy watched as the girl sauntered around the couch and sat on her knees beside him. He cocked a brow out of confusion and curiosity. Normally he'd have Elena nestling into his side, idly playing with the material of his uniform as she told him how her day went and found some random topic to debate about with him. This had become routine for them as of late. Bellamy's shift would finish and he would come to the lounge room (the very same lounge room that Elena had dragged him to the day they met - so he was a little sentimental, _sue him_) to relax and wait for Elena to join him on the couch. They would chat for a while before the two headed to his home and spent time with Octavia. So when the girl merely grinned at him, seemingly refraining from bouncing up and down on the spot as she often did when she was excited, he couldn't help but question her about it. "What is it?"

"I have something to show you! It's so cool, well, you may not think so, but I do and I want to show you. Can we please go back to mine before going to yours? Pleeeease?" Though she knew that she'd get what she wanted - she had him wrapped around her little finger - she threw him her infamous puppy dog look (which - much to his dismay - she had taught Octavia) for added effect.

As always, any resolve he may have had crumbled the minute she pulled that face. He sighed, bringing a hand up to rub his eyes, wearily anticipating what she wanted to show him. "Come on, then." Bellamy held out a hand to the grinning brunette and pulled her to her feet when she grabbed on to him. Once she was on her feet, Elena latched on to Bellamy's arm and began guiding him to her home as if he hadn't walked her home practically every night and had no idea where she lived. He remembered the very first time he had seen Elena's home. Resentment had coursed through him when he thought back to his tiny apartment with one room that he shared with his mother and sister. Bellamy also recalled immediately regretting any hint of resentment that had passed through him and feeling very guilty about it. The girl was too sweet and innocent to feel any hostility towards. It was impossible to be angry at her.

Elena had brought him into the main area of her apartment, demanding that he wait there with his eyes closed while she wandered into her room. He complied with her odd demands to keep her happy and patiently waited for the brunette beauty to return to the room. It wasn't long before he heard a warning ("No peeking!") accompanied by the quiet padding of her feet hitting the floor as she positioned herself in front of him. "And open!" She cheered. The cadet opened his eyes and looked at the girl in front of him. His breath hitched in his throat as he eagerly drank in her image. She was wearing a red dress that clung to her torso and accentuated her curves, but floated out at waist, ending a couple of inches above her knee. She looked breathtakingly beautiful and Bellamy had the urge to grab her and kiss her senseless. "My mom gave it to me. Another thing passed down through the females in my family, taken from the ground. Apparently this was in fashion back then, which is totally cool. I know fashion's not your particular area of interest when it comes to history, but still you have to admit that it's pretty great having something that once belonged to someone on the ground!" She rambled on at him, not noticing that he was just staring at her and not really breathing. "So how do I look?" Elena twirled around, making the skirt flutter about her.

Bellamy eventually came back to his senses and tried to use his words. "You look- uh- wow…" was all he could sputter out, making Elena giggle. It was then he realised that Elena was no longer a kid. She was becoming a young woman; a beautiful, smart, amazing young woman and he could no longer view her as a little sister like he once had. He had noticed once before, a couple of months ago, that his perception of Elena was changing when he caught himself staring at her lips, wanting nothing more than to steal a kiss from her while he was helping her with her homework, but had brushed it off as a one time thing. However, now he knew exactly how he felt about her. Bellamy Blake was in love with Elena Kane.

* * *

**Well, there you go guys! I even threw in a little extra for you. I actually really enjoyed writing these one shots, maybe I should make it a thing? I dunno, but anyways I hope you enjoyed these and I'll be back soon with the next chapter! So until then, bye bye~**


	22. Spacewalker

**If there's one thing I learned from writing those one shots, it's that writing in 3rd person is much easier when trying to add detail to the story. For that reason, I'm going to write this chapter in 3rd person and, though it may not matter to you guys or you may not have really thought about it until I mentioned it, I would like you to let me know whether you prefer the story in 1st or 3rd person and I'll take your answers into account for next time. Anyways, you didn't come here to read all of my babbling, so on with the story!**

* * *

Clarke had gone back with the commander, who Elena had found out was the smaller girl with the piercing blue eyes. She had left while it was still light, but now it was dark and fog covered the area. Elena paced back and forth in front of the closed gate, clutching the gun tightly in her hands. Clarke had been gone way too long for her liking and she was beginning to fear the worse.

"Princess, you're making everyone dizzy." Bellamy remarked, eyes following his girlfriend as she continued her pacing.

His sarcastic remark was ultimately ignored as the fiery brunette came to a stop in front of him, her normally warm toned eyes glaring up at him. "Clarke has been gone forever! What if something happened."

Bellamy let out a sigh, knowing how on edge Elena had been ever since she thought Lincoln had died on her watch. She couldn't bear the thought of her newly found friend dying, let alone her life long best friend. He stepped closer to her and leaned down slightly to meet her gaze. "Look, the commander saw you save Lincoln's life. She and Clarke are just negotiating a treaty right now, she'll be back soon, okay?"

Truth be told, she wasn't just worried about Clarke. No, the occurrence of the massacre was still present in her mind. Nyko was right, innocent lives were taken and the grounders held an incredibly strong sense of loyalty to their family; blood must have blood, as put by their healer. Would they just let that go? "Do you think," Elena started, eyes darting either side of them as if she were paranoid about someone overhearing them, "that they'll just let the massacre go because we can bring back former grounders?" Her chocolate coloured eyes shifted to look at the ground as a few tendrils of hair covered her face, tempting Bellamy to reach out and play with them - anything to soothe his beloved princess' nerves.

Something approaching the gate caught his attention. A blonde was walking towards them, followed by two creepily dressed grounders on horses. "We're about to find out." He murmured, cocking his head towards the gate.

Elena wasted no time in turning around and approaching the gate, calling out to the guards, who had been aiming their weapons at the ready. "Hold your fire! She's back! Open the gate."

Major Byrne took charge and gave the order. "Power up the gates. Roll-out positions. Stay ready!"

An officer opened the gate and Clarke walked through the threshold, making a beeline for her best friend. The small blonde was pulled into a bone crushing hug by Elena and immediately knew that she had worried her friend. "I'm okay, I didn't mean to make you worry."

"It's fine, I'm just glad you're safe." The two pulled away and shared vague smiles. "What happened with the commander?" That was the question on everyone's mind. Clarke swallowed nervously and gritted her teeth, having been momentarily distracted by the warm, homely embrace of her best friend and the relief of being back on home ground, she had forgotten about her discussion with the grounder commander. She casted her mind back to the bitter task at hand; delivering the outcome of their conversation.

She didn't get a word in edgeways, however, before Finn came jogging up to them. "You okay?" He asked, clearly as worried about Clarke as a Elena had been, though said brunette would argue otherwise.

Clarke didn't answer him as her eyes widened and she snapped her gaze towards the grounders. "Shut the gate." She demanded, grabbing Finn's arm and dragging him away from them. "You can't be out here." Elena and Bellamy shared a confused look, following the two as Clarke pulled Finn towards the drop ship.

Abby ran up to Clarke and hugged her, much like Elena had done as soon as she saw Clarke. "What did she say?" Everyone gathered around them, including Raven who came to stand beside Elena. "Is there a chance for a truce?"

"Yes." Clarke answered her mother hesitantly.

The way she responded made everyone realise something was wrong. Finn was the one who spoke up. "What's wrong?"

Clarke reluctantly let her gaze stray towards Finn. "They want you. If we want a truce, we have to give them Finn."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Raven spat out, walking closer to Clarke. Elena attempted to stop Raven from acting to brash, but the feisty mechanic was having none of it.

Clarke shook her head at Elena, letting her know that it's okay. "That's their offer."

Raven was furious. "That's not an offer."

"It's punishment." Finn corrected her, realising why the grounders wanted him. "For what happened at the village."

"I knew it." Elena muttered to herself under her breath. Her eyes met Finn's. "Blood must have blood. That's what Nyko said." She repeated her earlier words loud enough for the male to hear her. Finn nodded.

"That's ridiculous." Raven protested.

Abby, who had been quietly watching the exchange of words, finally spoke up. "If we refuse?"

The answer was a given, but Clarke provided one verbally anyway. "They attack."

There was a panicked wave of murmurs amongst the crowd. "I say we give him up!" Being the main phrase being thrown around.

Major Byrne tried to quell the flurry of anger and panic. "Easy, people."

One man approached Finn, glaring coldly at him. "Give him to the Grounders."

There was no way Raven was taking the threat sitting down as she launched herself at the man and shoved him backwards. "Back off!" He tried to retaliate but Bellamy and Elena jumped into action, Bellamy catching the man before he could reach Raven and Elena placing her hands on her hot headed friend's shoulders.

"Raven, Raven," the mechanic continued her thrashing until Elena had had enough and screamed at her, "hey!" Raven stopped and looked at the girl she had come to consider as her closest friend, something she hadn't really had before. "Finn will be fine, okay? We'll figure something out." And for a moment, Raven believed her, nodding at Elena's determined words.

That was until another man approached them with nothing but negative things to say about Finn. "I'm not dying for him. Spacewalker burned 3 months of oxygen from the Ark. He should've floated a long time ago. Throw him out!"

Raven ripped herself from Elena's grip and threw herself at the man. "Back off!"

"No, Raven! Stop, this won't help!" Elena pleaded for her friend to stop, trying grab her and pull her away. Bellamy only just managed to pull the petite girl out of the way of Raven's elbow that had been swung in her direction. "Bellamy, let go! We have to stop her!" Elena fought against her boyfriend, but to no avail, he was way too strong for her.

Byrne ran over to Raven, desperately trying to do what Elena couldn't. "Stop, Raven!" However, Raven ended up swinging her fist into the guard's face, throwing her back. Two guards grabbed her, pinning her arms behind her back, despite her constant protests.

Elena shook her head and ran a hand through her hair, turning around in Bellamy's arms to lean her forehead against his chest. "This is crazy." Bellamy had to strain his ears to actually hear what she said over all the noise. He looked around at all the chaos and silently asked himself just how they got into to all this mess, while rubbing soothing circles on his girlfriend's back.

* * *

Bellamy, Clarke and Elena walked towards Finn and Murphy. They had just had a discussion with Abby and the guards about security and were all feeling very weary.

Bellamy was the first to greet the two once they had reached them. "Hey. We're reinforcing all defences. Doubles on the perimeter. No one's getting past that wire."

Finn quickly got up, eager to do anything he can to help out Clarke and the others. "I'll see where they're thin."

His idea was quickly shut down by Bellamy. They all knew that they needed to keep Finn out of sight. "No, you should head inside. B corridor will be easier to defend if it comes to that."

"I'm not gonna hide."

Clarke shook her head and gave him a pointed look, one that said 'do as I say or else'. No one wanted to argue with that look. "Right now, we have to think about keeping you safe. I'm gonna talk to Lincoln."

Finn was hesitant about hiding away, but chose to listen to Clarke and followed Elena and Bellamy without much protest…until they were out of Clarke's hearing range.

* * *

As they walked towards part of the Ark, Finn's protests began to pick up. "I feel more like a prisoner than someone you're trying to protect." He muttered to the other two.

Elena tried to hold her tongue, despite the nagging urge to tell him to shut the hell up. She liked Finn, she knew he was a good guy really and that the sheer instinctive need to find Clarke was why he did what he did, but he killed _18 innocent_ people - after preaching about wanting peace - and expected everyone to just treat him the same as before. Here they were trying to save his life and he wanted to go off and be reckless by getting near the grounders. Did he even appreciate the fact that they were trying to save his life? Oh, Elena _really_ tried to hold her tongue, but alas, she couldn't. She turned to him, with what Bellamy could only describe as the fiercest look that he had ever witnessed Elena give someone; and he'd seen some pretty fierce looks from her. "Would you rather we handed you over?" Finn looked completely taken aback. Elena quickly wiped the look off of her face, feeling guilty. She may have been angered and shocked at what he did, but she didn't want Finn to die. Living with himself seemed to be hard enough. That, and Finn still had to deal with Clarke giving him the cold shoulder. Besides, he was still her friend, even if she was still on edge whenever she was around him. Softening her tone, she tried to explain herself. "Look, Finn. We know that what happened back at the village, it wasn't really you, but the grounders don't care about that. If you want to stay alive then you have to stay out of sight until we figure out some sort of plan, okay?" Elena glanced between the two, both still looked pretty surprised. Tutting dramatically, she marched ahead of them. "Let's go!" She called out to them.

* * *

After a while of hiding away, Finn had managed to convince the two to let him go off into the medical tent and had quickly left them when they finally agreed to it. Once he had left, the couple had ventured off to a more secluded area of the Ark; rather Bellamy had dragged Elena to a more secluded area. Bellamy turned to Elena with an odd look in his eyes. They were darker than usual, she had noted, which tended to happen when he was angry.

She glanced at him and away from him. Still sensing his eyes on her, she sighed deeply and turned her gaze back to him. "So I may have lost my cool a little." Silence. "Look, I handled it, alright? I explained myself, problem solved." When all she received was silence, she cocked an eyebrow at him. Was he really that mad? Her reply wasn't vocal. Instead, he cradled her face in his hands and smashed his lips to hers, taking her completely by surprise. She reached her hands out to grab fistfuls of his shirt, pulling him flush against her as he pushed her against the wall of the Ark. In all honesty, Bellamy thought Elena's fierce look to be incredibly sexy and wanted nothing more than to kiss her senseless right there and then, only just managing to control himself. Now, however, they had a quiet moment where they could be alone. His hands travelled down to her waist, before slipping under her shirt. She sighed into the kiss when she felt him rub his thumbs against her hips in circular motions, allowing him full access to her mouth. Tongues dancing together in perfect synchronisation, hands wandering up sides or into the other's hair, Bellamy and Elena had truly forgotten about everything that was occurring around them; they were simply too lost in the kiss. They pulled away, panting heavily as they greedily drank in the much needed air. However, Bellamy didn't give her much recovery time before he latched his lips onto Elena's neck and began biting and sucking, withdrawing loud moans from Elena which made her bite down on her lip to quieten herself. Before it could get too far, loud cheering and drums brought them out of their little world.

Bellamy pulled back, not missing the worried look on his girlfriend's face. He kissed her forehead and moved the gun that had been resting on his back so that he could hold it. "It's going to be okay." Elena doubted it, but humoured him by giving him a small smile and a nod, and with that they both took off.

* * *

Bellamy had gotten into position with the other guards outside the main part of the Ark, while Elena stood strong with Clarke, slightly behind them. Abby joined to two girls.

"They're trying to scare us." Bellamy announced to the other guards.

"I think we should pull back and go inside the station." The present chancellor murmured to the girls.

"No." Clarke disagreed with her mother. "We need to prove we're not afraid."

"What if I am?"

Elena briefly smiled at Abby. "Fake it."

Abby stared in awe at the two girls, no, the two _women _who stood tall and proud, ready to fight for their people. She couldn't believe how much they had grown and matured since arriving on Earth and she couldn't be more proud of them if she tried. Clarke took hold of her mother's hand and then Elena's hand, silently telling the two that they were all in this together. Abby nodded to them and marched forward with Bellamy, Clarke and Elena following closely behind. "Open the gate." The gate was opened, revealing two grounders of horses.

"Where's the boy?" Was the muffled inquiry from one of the grounders.

"We're not giving him up. We're ready to fight, if that's what it comes to." The chancellor declared bravely with a grin on her face. A horn sounded out and the grounders left.

"Watch the woods! Watch for movement!" Bellamy yelled out to the guards, who listened to him as they knew that he had the most experience when it came to grounder attacks.

Clarke noticed movement in the woods and leaned closer to Bellamy to quietly alert him. "Bellamy." She nodded her head towards the area.

"Movement on the tree line!" A guard shouted.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" A man walked out from the woods with his hands held up, surrendering.

Elena's eyes widened as the man casually walked up to the gate, grinning at them. "Dad." Her voice came out as a whimper, tears filling her eyes. She sprinted over to her father, happily jumping into his arms when he beckoned her towards him for a hug. The possibility that her father could be dead had passed through her mind more times than she'd like to admit, so she couldn't even begin to explain how happy she was to see him again.

"I'm okay, Kiddo." Marcus Kane placed a kiss on the crown of his little girl's head, holding her tighter than ever. He looked over to Abby when he heard her say his name. He pulled away from his daughter and guided her back towards the camp. "Chancellor."

"I was afraid that I wouldn't see you again." Abby admitted.

"I had those fears myself." He looked up at the Ark. "It's good to see this place again."

Though Bellamy was happy to see Elena reunited with her father, he knew that they were at risk being out in the open. "We can't be out in the open. We need to get somewhere safe."

Marcus gave Bellamy a smile and a nod, surprising both his daughter and her boyfriend. "It's safe for the moment." He turned back to Abby. "Come on, we need to talk. I managed to buy us a bit of time." Abby and Marcus walked into the Ark, leaving Bellamy, Elena and Clarke to watch on as they shut the gate once more.

* * *

Outside the council room, where the trio of former and current chancellors were talking, stood 3 impatient people; Elena, Bellamy and Raven.

"What the hell could be taking them so long? We aren't giving Finn up, that's it." Raven growled, scowling at the floor.

"Dad's probably telling them all he knows about the grounders. They shouldn't be much longer." Elena replied, though she herself wasn't sure what was taking this long.

Bellamy sighed at the two. "We're just going to have to wait it out." Luckily, they didn't have to wait even a second longer as the doors opened and Abby walked out. Raven and Bellamy flocked her, while Elena stayed further back, but still followed them.

"What's happening?" Raven demand.

Bellamy joined her inquisition. "You were in there a long time."

Abby's face portrayed no emotion. "There was a lot to talk about."

"Well, what's going on?"

"There was a lot to talk about."

Bellamy had had enough of her dodging of questions and stood directly in front of her. "Hey. We are not turning him over to the Grounders."

The stubborn woman glared up at him. "Step aside now."

Elena took that as her cue to try to defuse the situation. She quickly stood in between Bellamy and Abby, facing the latter. "Look, Abby, we just want to know what's going on and what our next move will be."

Abby looked at the girl she considered to be a second daughter and her glare softened. "We're all trying to find a way out of this." She squeezed Elena's shoulder and walked off.

They three stared after her, before Bellamy caught on to what the 'council' were planning. "They're gonna give him up."

"No," Raven whispered. She turned to the other two, gaze strong and determined. "We can't let that happen."

* * *

They wasted no time in forming a plan of action. It was decided that Finn would be safer in the dropship where they could protect him, so Raven went to work on shutting the electric fence's power off while Elena and Bellamy went to get Finn and Clarke. It didn't take long to find them. They were talking lowly to each other in one of the hallways.

"Finn." Bellamy called out as soon as he was in their hearing range. "You need to get out of here."

Clarke couldn't believe what she was hearing. With a shake of her head, she quickly disagreed with Bellamy's suggestion. "Where would he go?"

"The dropship."

"No! You know that this is the safest place for him right now."

Elena placed a hand on her friend's shoulder and stepped closer to her. "Actually, it's not. They're beginning to turn on him, Clarke. They want to give him up."

"We can protect him at the dropship until we figure this thing out." Bellamy added, before turning to Finn. "Grab your gear and meet at Raven's gate in 5. She's already working on cutting the power to the fence."

Finn agreed that this plan would be best, but he didn't want to endanger anyone else. He had done enough of that already. "Okay, but nobody's coming with me."

However, that wasn't an option in Bellamy's eyes. The chances of Finn making it on his own were slim to none. "That isn't up for discussion."

An incredulous look was aimed at the three by Clarke, who thought they had completely lost their minds. "We are surrounded by grounders."

"If we split up, we take the low ground, we'll make it through." Bellamy assured her, though it didn't really work.

"We'll meet at the dropship." Elena stated, ending the discussion and showing that there was no room for argument.

"There he is." A voice said from behind them. It belonged to the same man who had wanted to get rid of Finn before. This time, however, he was armed. "You are gonna get us killed." He approached the group, lifting up his arm to hit Finn with the pipe **(A/N: I don't actually know what it was)**, but was smacked by Bellamy's gun and on the floor before he could do any damage.

"Anyone else?" Bellamy asked menacingly.

Clarke looked out at the crowd who all wanted Finn dead. "They're right," she turned to Finn, "we have to go." They all ran past the crowd before anyone could try anything.

* * *

They had all split up and stayed low, just as Bellamy had told them to do. Elena was currently trekking through the woods, thanking whatever God could hear her for her small and light frame. Her eyes scanned the area, looking for any stray grounders who may pop out at her. She had the gun clutched tightly in her hands, but she didn't want to shoot anyone. After all, isn't that what got them into this mess in the first place? The girl heaved a sigh, grateful that she was nearing the dropship where there'd be shelter and other people. Truth be told, she was surprised Bellamy had allowed her to venture off on her own, but she supposed that it was the safest option after all. A loud shout snapped her out of her thoughts as she recognised the voice as Finn's and immediately ran in the direction of the commotion. Loud, heavy footsteps were approaching her, snapping and crunching on the twigs and leaves on the ground. Elena figured that they belonged to someone large, who was probably wearing a lot of armour. A grounder. Darting behind a tree big enough to cover her, she peered out from behind the trunk just in time to watch the grounder whizz past her and waited until he was out of sight before running in the opposite direction of him. When she arrived at the scene, Finn was leaning over Clarke, who was sprawled out on the floor. "Clarke!" She exclaimed, eyes widening at her friend's predicament. She jogged over, throwing herself down next to the blonde, gingerly touching her head, which was covered in blood. "I'm guessing that grounder hit her?" Finn, who had been startled by Elena's appearance, recollected himself and nodded. "Okay." Elena reached out and stroked the side of Clarke's face that wasn't injured. "Clarke?" She cooed, wanting to wake the girl up gently. "Can you hear me? It's Elena." Nothing.

"Can you help her?" Finn asked.

Elena didn't directly answer his question. "Let's just get her to the dropship where it's safer and I can sort her out." Finn nodded again and gathered Clarke up in his arms.

* * *

Elena jogged ahead of Finn when the dropship game into view. Throwing the curtain back, she rushed into the dropship, ignoring the gun Bellamy had pointed at her due to her sudden appearance, and took her jacket off. She folded it up and put it down on the makeshift bed they had left behind her.

Bellamy, Murphy and Raven were all baffled by her actions. "What are you doing?" Raven asked.

She was ignored. "I need a bandage or even a rag, just anything like that!" Elena barked out, frantically searching for something useful.

Bellamy grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him. "What's going on?"

There was no chance to explain before Finn burst through the entrance with an unconscious Clarke in his arms. "That." Elena answered, focusing her attention on Clarke. "Finn, put her down on here." He walked over to the bed and placed Clarke on it. Elena gently led Clarke's head on her jacket, looking up when Murphy offered her a rag. "Thanks." She said gratefully. Murphy watched as she pressed it against Clarke's wound. "Clarke, can you hear me?" She called out. Clarke groaned, obviously completely out of it. "It's going to be okay, you'll be fine, but I need you to try to stay awake for me."

Murphy frowned at Elena, confused. "Wouldn't it be best if she got some rest?"

"Not if she's got concussion, which is possible."

"Oh, you're pretty good at this stuff, aren't you, Princess?" Murphy was genuinely impressed at her knowledge.

"It's not that impressive." Elena muttered, thinking back to her days as her mom and Abby's apprentice. "But, if she's already asleep, then there's nothing else I can do until she wakes up again."

"How long do you think that will be?" Bellamy inquired, crouching by his girlfriend's side.

"Hopefully, not too long." She answered, watching Finn storm out of the dropship.

* * *

Raven had been left in charge of watching over Clarke, gently dabbing her wound to keep it cleanish, while Elena had gone outside to talk to Bellamy. He and Murphy were stood outside, surveilling the area. Elena passed Finn as he was walking into the dropship while she walked out.

"What are we gonna do, Bell?" The brunette asked, coming up beside him and leaning back against the cool metal, mindlessly casting her eyes over the area in front of the drop ship.

"For now, just keep Finn safe." Was her answer, but it didn't satisfy her enough.

"Yeah? And then what? They won't give up, Bellamy. We need a plan that ensures everyone's safety. Maybe I can try talking to the commander. I mean, I'm the one who managed to bring Lincoln back, maybe she'll listen to me."

"No way." Bellamy snapped, protective instincts kicking in.

Murphy cut her off with something that surprised them both. "He's right, Elena." He agreed with Bellamy. "Clarke spoke with their commander and this was the outcome. They want Finn, they won't take anything else."

Elena wasn't giving up. "There has to be something we can do! They may believe in the whole 'blood must have blood thing', but will killing another person really bring about peace? Someone is killed and then the people close to them kills the killer as vengeance, which sparks controversy and fights amongst the remaining people, ending in more death. That's not peace, that's war." And they all thought Bellamy was the only one who could give one hell of a speech; think again!

Bellamy and Murphy had been shocked into silence by her words. That was until Murphy looked to Bellamy with a smirk on his face. "Your Princess sure is one of a kind." Bellamy could only agree.

Raven walked out of the dropship before anyone could say anything else. "Clarke's awake."

"That's good." Elena replied. "I'll give them a moment." She added, referring to Clarke and Finn. Suddenly, she was grabbed and pulled down behind a log.

"We got company!" Bellamy shouted from beside her. She peeked out from behind the log and saw grounders surrounding them. "Get out here." Bellamy yelled to Finn and Clarke, who ran out from the dropship and dived to the ground.

"We're surrounded." Clarke murmured to Finn. Everyone shared a look of understanding before running into the dropship, panting heavily.

* * *

Clarke and Elena paced nervously, apparently they shared the one of their nervous traits. Bellamy and Murphy peered out from behind the parachute that covered the entrance, watching the grounders closely.

"They're not moving any closer." Murphy commented.

"Staying out of range. Probably waiting until it's dark." Bellamy added.

"If we hit them now, at least we'd take them by surprise."

Clarke shook her head. "We don't even know how many of them are out there."

Throwing her an exasperated look, Murphy sighed. "I'm not hearing any better ideas, Clarke."

"We'll give them something." Raven stated, emotionless.

Bellamy looked at her questioningly. "All they want is Finn."

"Finn wasn't the only one at the village." Raven shrugged nonchalantly. Everyone's eyes widened as they realised what she was saying.

"What are you talking about?" Clarke hissed at the same time Bellamy shook his head and spoke.

"Raven, hold on."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Raven, I came here to protect him. You were the one who wanted me to come. You-" Murphy cut himself off as he figured out Raven's plan. He looked at Raven, then Finn and hen back at Raven, piecing all of the puzzle pieces together. "That's why you asked me to come along."

Raven inhaled deeply, she felt bad for doing this, but she couldn't lose Finn. "Enough grounders saw him at the village. They'd believe he was the shooter."

"Sick bitch." Murphy sneered.

Elena had to put her foot down. This was too much. Sure, she didn't really get on with Murphy, but she wasn't about to let him take the blame for something he didn't do. "No, Raven. This isn't happening."

Clarke aided Elena in her argument. "Raven, you don't mean this."

"You know what they do to people." Bellamy added.

"They want a murderer, we'll give them one." Raven cocked her gun and aimed it at Murphy. "Drop your gun."

He merely walked towards her with a furious glare. "Go to hell, Raven.

"Put it down, Raven. Like it or not, he's one of us." Clarke tried to calm Raven.

She gritted her teeth and clutched the gun tighter. "I said drop it."

"Stop! Stop!" Finn walked forward and pushed down on Raven's gun so that it was no longer aimed at Murphy. "We're not doing this." He looked around at everyone. "They've got us surrounded. The only thing we can do is stay and defend this place."

Bellamy nodded, showing his agreement. "I'm with you." He looked at Elena, who nodded her head as well.

"Good." Finn gave a brief smile. "Murphy…"

"Yeah?" Murphy replied.

"Go upstairs. Watch the rear. I'll take the lower level. You four," His gaze lingered on Bellamy, Clarke, Elena and Raven, "take the front gate. That's the plan. Alright?" Murphy didn't protest as he took off up the ladder. Bellamy and Elena walked out the dropship, leaving Finn with Clarke and Raven.

* * *

The group appointed with the front gate were hidden away, watching out for grounders.

"See anything?" Raven called out quietly to the others. Clarke was near her, while Bellamy and Elena were situation opposite them.

"No." Clarke answered, frustrated. The crunch of leaves caught there attention. "Someone's coming."

Someone stepped out, making Raven aim her gun. "There." The person turned around, hands held in the air. "Finn?" Raven felt sick. How could he do this?

"No." Clarke jumped up. "Finn!" A group of grounders surrounded him, grabbing him and running off with him.

"Oh my god." Elena murmured as she and Bellamy came out from hiding.

* * *

It was dark and they had returned to their camp, watching the grounders from behind the fence. There was cheering coming from them, fires scattered about the area as a group worked on putting up what looked to be a large stake in the middle of the area.

"What is that?" Raven asked weakly.

Elena reached out and grabbed her hand in her hand. "I think it's for Finn." She answered gently, feeling Raven's hand shake in her own as she clutched at Elena's hand tightly.

"They want us to watch." Clarke added in a whisper.

"We're gonna get him." Bellamy stated, still determined to save Finn. "We'll get in close and we'll hit them hard."

Marcus was stood beside him, acknowledging his valiant ways, but ultimately turning down his plan. "Son, there's thousands of them. Even if we could kill hundreds, they'd still wipe out this camp and your friend would still die."

"We have to try." Bellamy argued.

Raven wasn't ready to give up on Finn either. She couldn't lose her family. "Abby." The chancellor remained silent, not knowing what she could say to comfort the girl. "Abby, we have to do something."

Abby shook her head and sadly looked at the girl. "No, Raven."

Clarke knew she had to do something; the boy she loved was about to be killed. She leaned forward and looked pointedly at Elena and Bellamy, before walking off. The two followed her with Raven close behind them. "Take this." Clarke shoved the gun in Bellamy's hand.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm gonna talk to the commander."

"What else do you have to say?"

"I don't know." Clarke snapped. She didn't mean to, but at this point she couldn't control her emotions. She repeated herself in a much softer tone. "I don't know."

Elena grabbed her hand and made her face her. "Just do what you have to do. We'll be here to back you up, whatever happens." She advised.

Clarke nodded, hugging Elena close. "I will. Thank you." She pulled back and was about to leave when Raven spoke up.

"Give me your hand." Clarke did as she was told. Raven slipped a small knife up her sleeve. "If she won't let him go, kill her." The blonde silently nodded. "Things'll go crazy, and we'll grab you and Finn. Clarke, you have to help him. I owe him my life." With that said, Clarke walked through the gate and made her way to the commander while the others rejoined Abby and Kane. They all watched on as Clarke slowly walked through the group of grounders, who parted to make way for her.

"What is she doing?" Raven muttered.

Clarke reached the grounder known as Indra, who aimed her spear at Clarke's stomach, pressing it hard enough to draw blood from the blonde, which sealed through her shirt. "I'm here to talk to your commander. Let me through."

"Let her pass." Lexa, the commander, called out. Indra lifted her spear, keeping her eyes trained on Clarke as she approached Lexa. "You bleed for nothing. You cannot stop this."

"No," Clarke answered her, "only you can." The grounders started shrieking and cheering as Finn was brought forward. He looked shocked to see Clarke with the commander, but she didn't look at him. Elena couldn't help but tremble slightly as she saw her friends right in the middle of a group of grounders, where they could easily be harmed by a single command of Lexa. Bellamy grabbed her hand, running his thumb over the back of her hand. Though this was primarily to comfort Elena, it was also meant to bring comfort to him too, as he couldn't help but feel just as nervous as Elena. Clarke took a deep breath before addressing the commander again. "Show my people how powerful you are. Show them you can be merciful. Show them you're not a savage." Finn was still being brought forward to the stake.

"We are what we are." Lexa stated simply. She turned her head and watched as Finn was tied to the stake.

"Then I'm a killer. I burned 300 of your people. I slit a man's throat and watched him die." Lexa shifted her gaze back to the blonde in front of her, looking at her with intrigue. "I'm soaked in grounder blood. Take me." Clarke pleaded, tears formed in her eyes. She'd give it all up to save Finn.

"But Finn is guilty."

"No." Clarke denied. "He did it for me. He did it for me."

It meant nothing to Lexa; the strong leader who had hardened her heart. "Then he dies for you."

Raven didn't understand what Clarke was waiting for, she had the perfect opportunity, but she wasn't taking it. "Come on, Clarke. Do it." Elena glanced over to Raven with a heavy heart. She knew Clarke wasn't stupid enough to try and kill the commander. Her father was right, a plan like that wouldn't work. No, Clarke would do just as Elena said; she'd do what she had to. Abby knew it as well as Elena did and the thought of the pain her daughter would go through brought tears to her eyes.

Clarke's eyes wandered over to Finn and back to Lexa. "Can I say goodbye?" She got a brief nod of the head in return and approached Finn.

"What is she doing?" Raven murmured. Elena blinked back tears, not wanting to give Raven an answer.

Clarke jogged over to Finn, taking his face in her hands and giving him a slow, passionate kiss. She pulled back and looked up at him with watery eyes. "I love you, too."

Finn's lips trembled. "I'm scared."

Clarke hugged him, tears falling down her cheeks. "You're gonna be okay." She heard him let out a quiet groan. "You're okay."

Finn gave her one last smile before his head hung limply. Clarke pulled away trembling, in her hand was a bloodied knife. She had killed him.

Grounders went to lunge at her, but Lexa lifted an arm to stop them. "It is done." Everyone was shocked, bar Abby and Elena, who had tears in their eyes. No one knew what to say. Raven faltered, stumbling to the side slightly as she realised what had happened.

"Raven…" Elena sobbed quietly, reaching out for the girl.

A tear escaped her eye as Raven fell into Elena, allowing the younger girl to wrap her arms around her tightly, and the two fell to the ground. "No!" Elena brought a hand up to Raven's hair, stroking it and pushing her head into her neck, placing several kisses to Raven's temple. "No, no, no!" Raven screamed as she continued to sob violently. She buried herself into Elena's embrace as the latter looked up at Bellamy with tear filled eyes and tear stained cheeks. He pushed back the lump that had formed in his throat and kneeled down beside them, gathering them both up in his arms as he mimicked Elena's comforting actions, kissing Elena's temple and running a hand through her hair, while rubbing circles on Raven's back. Tonight they had lost one of their own, and they could only pray that this at least brought about some peace.


	23. I'll Be There For You (One Shot)

**Please forgive the unimaginative title, but I couldn't think of anything else! Anyway, this is another one shot about Bellamy and Elena's relationship on the Ark. I'll warn you now, it's emotional as it's about Elena's mother's death. Anyways, I hope you guys like it :)**

* * *

It was an average day on the Ark. Bellamy had just gotten off duty and Elena had met him in their usual spot. However, instead of going to his place after relaxing for a while, Elena had pleaded Bellamy to come with her and see her mother during her lunch break.

"Pretty, pretty, pretty please, Bellamy?" The brunette pouted up at him, puppy dog eyes gleaming brightly, knowing that he would give in. "Mom says it's been too long since she last saw you and you know how much she adores you." She further convinced him.

Bellamy chuckled and ruffled her hair. "You don't need to persuade me to visit your mom, Princess. I'll happily come with you."

"Yay!" She cheered happily, pouncing on him and scattering kisses all over his face. The 16 year old moved away, pulling the man with her. "Let's go then!"

He smirked at her eagerness. "Lead the way, Sweetheart."

* * *

They walked through the many hallways, Elena swinging their linked hands back and forth, to the medical bay.

"Mom's going to be so happy that I finally brought you to see her again. She's always asking after you." Elena rolled her eyes and began mimicking her mother's voice, much to Bellamy's amusement. "'How is Bellamy's training going?' and 'Oh, Elena, you really should bring him round to meet your father one day!'" She shivered at the thought. "I think I'd rather keep you and my father separated."

Bellamy chuckled, though he had to agree. Elena's father was the head of security, which meant he was the main overseer of his training and he probably wouldn't appreciate Bellamy's relationship with his daughter, even more so if he figured out that Bellamy was actually in love with Elena. It was Bellamy's turn to shiver at his thoughts. Yes, he could imagine Kane would be less than impressed if he ever learned of _those_ feelings. "Yeah, I agree with you. Though, I wouldn't mind being able to see your mom more often. She's great, basically an older version of you." He grinned down at his princess, placing a swift kiss to her cheek and relishing in the colour it brought to her cheeks.

Elena rolled her eyes and turned her face away from him to hide her burning cheeks. "Sweet talker…" She grumbled, though she was fighting off a smile. Looking up, she noticed the door to the medical bay getting closer and quickened her pace. She was about to open the door when someone beat her to it.

"Oh, hey, Little One!" The sweet voice of her mother sounded. Serena Kane beamed at her daughter. She glanced down to find her daughter's hand entwined with Bellamy's, which made blues eyes sparkle. Serena knew of Bellamy's feelings for her daughter and thought they'd make an adorable couple, she just wished Elena would stop being so dense and realise her feelings for Bellamy. "Bellamy, it's so good to see you again! You should stop by more often." She chided in a motherly tone, pulling the young man in for a hug. Elena watched on as her mother chatted away with Bellamy (well, it was more like she was chatting at Bellamy, but he didn't seem to mind). Seeing two of the most important people in her life get along so well made her feel warm inside and she couldn't help but grin happily at them. The moment was ruined, however, when four guards burst into the room, causing a ruckus. Elena recognised one of them to be Officer Shumway, someone she had never liked.

"Excuse me, this is a medical ward. Do not come in here and start making a ridiculous amount of noise, some patients are trying rest." Abby, Elena's mother's best friend and fellow doctor, scolded the guards in a sharp tone as she stomped over to them. Serena stood firm and proud, knowing what was happening.

"Mom, what's going on?" Elena asked, feeling panic rise within her as she watched two of the guards grab her mother's arms. "What are you doing?" She lunged forward, but Bellamy caught her and brought her into his arms, feeling just as confused.

Shumway looked at Serena through unfeeling eyes. His face portrayed no emotion as he informed everyone of what was happening. "Serena Kane, you're under arrest for exceeding the maximum medical supplies allowed per patient."

"What? No, there has to be some mistake!" Abby exclaimed with wide eyes, watching her friend's expression closely. When Serena made no move to defend herself, Abby knew that she had done what she was accused of.

Elena shook her head frantically, that was a capital offence; her mother knew what would happen if she committed one. "Mom?" Her mother remained silent. "T-Tell them there's been a mistake!" She stammered. Serena avoided her daughter's terrified gaze and let the guards drag her off to where her husband and Thelonious would be waiting, without protest. "No, let go of her!" Elena began thrashing against Bellamy, who held onto her tighter.

"Elena, stop! Calm down, okay?" Bellamy tried to calm the girl. Acting reckless now would cause nothing but more trouble.

Abby walked forward and placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "He's right, Elena. You acting carelessly won't help anyone." She said, trying to soothe the girl.

Elena calmed down and looked at Abby with fear filled eyes. "Exceeding medical supplies could get her floated, Abby! She knew that and yet…" Biting down on her bottom lip to stop it from trembling, she leaned back on Bellamy. "They have to pardon her, right? She's a doctor, she's needed!" Bellamy unwound his arms from Elena's waist, opting to run his hands up and down her sides comfortingly.

"Let's hope so." Abby answered, leading the way to the room where people were floated. She planned on arguing Serena's case to Jaha.

Elena grabbed Bellamy's hand again, clutching on to it tightly. "Please don't leave me."

He squeezed her hand in response. "Never."

* * *

Once they reached the room, they saw the chancellor standing to the side, looking on at Serena and Marcus with sorrow filled eyes. Thelonious didn't want to float Serena, she was a dear friend of his, but she committed a crime and she wasn't the only doctor on board the Ark, so he had to abide by the law and float her. Marcus and Serena were hugging, clutching onto one another tightly with tears in their eyes. Guards surrounded the area, making sure Serena couldn't try and escape.

"No, Mom!" Elena cried, realising that her mother wasn't going to be pardoned. Her parents pulled away from one another and faced their daughter with a look of surprise. Elena went to run towards her mother, but two of the guards held her back. She struggled against them as much as she could and Bellamy tried to help her, but two more guards pulled him back.

"Let her through." Jaha ordered, believing he at least owed it to his friend to say her goodbyes to her daughter.

As soon as she was free, Elena launched herself into her mother's arms. "Please don't leave me!" She sobbed. Serena's heart broke in two when she heard her daughter's desperate plea and she wrapped her arms around her baby girl, running a hand through her curls. "Don't go."

Serena pulled back and cupped Elena's face with her hands. "I have to, Little One. But you're going to be alright, you'll have your father, Abby, Jake, Clarke and Bellamy. You're going to be fine." She tried to assure Elena, but wasn't doing a very good job of it as she was crying herself.

"But I want you, Mom." Elena whimpered.

Serena smiled through her tears and grabbed her husband's hand, pulling him towards them. "I love you both so much." She placed a kiss on Elena's nose and then kissed her husband one last time before a guard grabbed her and pulled her over to the airlock **(A/N: I don't know what it's called, so we're going with this)**.

"No!" Elena shouted, trying to get to her mom, but her father held her back. She glared up at him. "You can stop this! You have to stop this, Dad! Please, it's Mom! Stop this." Her voice faltered as she got more and more worked up.

Marcus tightened his grip on his daughter as she continued to fight against him to get to her mother. "Elena, that's enough!" Serena was pushed into the airlock and the doors were closed.

"Let go of me!" She finally pushed herself away from her father. Looking back at her mother, Elena gasped as she saw the door was already shut and Serena looking at them with a smile. Jaha nodded at Shumway, who was stood by the control pad. Shumway pushed the button and the outer door opened, allowing Serena to be sucked into space. "NO!" Elena screamed. Sobs wracked her body, making her shake so violently that she fell to the floor. Bellamy jumped forward and caught her, holding her in his arms, allowing her tears to soak his uniform.

Marcus pushed back his tears, not wanting to be seen as weak by the guards and approached his daughter, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder. "Elena-"

However, his daughter slapped his hand away from her, glowering up at him through her tears. "Don't touch me!"

Abby, who had been crying silently as she watched the gut-wrenching scene play out, walked over to the heap that was Bellamy and Elena and spoke quietly to Bellamy. "I think she should stay with you tonight."

He nodded and gathered Elena up. "C'mon, Princess." He whispered, helping her walk out of the room and to his apartment, leaving Abby to deal with Marcus.

* * *

Bellamy had managed to get Elena to his place without much fuss. She had quietened down, now only letting out the occasional hiccup. As they walked through the door, they were immediately greeted by Octavia and his mother.

Octavia had bounded up to them, cheering "you're home! Fina-" She had cut herself off when she saw the state Elena was in.

Aurora quickly stood up and walked up to them with worry written all over her face. "Elena, Angel, what's wrong?" Bellamy shut the door as Aurora took Elena into her arms. Feeling the warm, motherly embrace brought about a fresh batch of tears as Elena gripped onto Aurora's shirt and cried into her shoulder. Aurora sent her son a questioning gaze, but he looked away sadly. She sighed and pressed a kiss to the crown of Elena's head, guiding her over to one of the chairs in the small apartment. "Octavia, fetch me a blanket, please." The 15 year old did as she was told, quickly returning to Elena's side and wrapping the blanket around her. Elena had grown silent again, trembling and gazing at the floor as tears dripped down her cheeks.

Aurora stood up and pulled Bellamy to the corner of the room. "What happened?"

"Her mother broke the law. She was floated." Bellamy informed his mother quietly. The mother gasped, glancing back at the young girl, who was being cuddled by Octavia.

Aurora sighed and rejoined the girls. Crouching down in front of Elena, she wiped the girl's tears away. "I'm so sorry, Angel. Look, why don't you get some rest?" She suggested, brushing a lock of hair away from Elena's face.

Elena pushed back the lump that had formed in her throat and looked up at Aurora, seeing nothing but sincerity in her eyes. She nodded gratefully and stood up, shuffling over to the beds. Bellamy walked over and lifted her into his bed. She led down, giving Bellamy a very faint smile before looking at Octavia. "O." She called out softly, patting the space next to her. Octavia nodded and Bellamy lifted her up onto the bed, watching as she settled down next to Elena, who had reached out and cuddled the girl.

* * *

It didn't take long for the two teenagers to fall asleep. Bellamy glanced over at two before looking back at his mother. He had changed into more comfortable clothing and was watching his mother finish her work. "I don't know how to help her." He admitted.

"There's not much else you can do other than be there to listen and comfort her, Bell." Aurora smiled at her son. "And I think you're already doing a pretty good job of that."

"You didn't see her, Mom." Bellamy frowned, reliving the horrible moment in his mind. "I've never seen her look so…" He tried to find the right word. "Broken."

"Well, Honey, she lost her mother." Her son looked so distraught, it made her put down the clothes she had been working on and get up, walking over to him and wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing his temple. "Bellamy, you have to give her time. I know you want to make her happy again, but she needs time to grieve and heal." He nodded, understanding what she was saying. "Now move your sister into my bed and get some rest. You still have to go to work tomorrow."

* * *

Elena woke up, momentarily disorientated. It took a moment, but she finally remembered what had happened the day before and got her bearings. Sighing, she tried to sit up, but couldn't due to the arms that were wrapped around her waist. She frowned, noticing that they were much larger and more muscled than Octavia's, who she had fallen asleep with. When she turned around in the arms, she was met with the deep brown eyes of Bellamy Blake. The two of them remained silent, neither wanting to address the recent events. Elena opted for snuggling into Bellamy as much as she could while still being able to see his face. "When does you shift start?" Her voice came out as a whisper. She had intended to be quiet in the first place, but she hadn't meant to be quite that quiet. All of the crying and sobbing had taken it's toll on her throat, making it feel dry and sore.

Bellamy reached out and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "Not for a few hours."

"I'll go to Clarke's then. Dad will probably come looking for me and I don't want to put Octavia at risk of being seen."

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I'll come and find you when my shift is over."

She nodded and reached up to place and kiss on his jaw. "Thank you."

Bellamy furrowed his brow out of confusion. "For what?"

"You're always here for me when I need you." She answered with a timid smile, wondering how she got so lucky to have someone like Bellamy in her life.

He smiled down at her and nuzzled his nose against hers, making her giggle quietly. "I'll always be here for you." It would take time to happen, she knew that - they both did - but, with Bellamy by her side, Elena would heal. In fact, she could already feel it happening.


	24. Remember Me

**Sorry this took so long but a) as you can see, it's quite a long chapter and b) I've had some extremely sad news recently, so I haven't really wanted to write, hope you guys understand :) Just a quick warning, it hasn't being proof read, so please forgive me for any mistakes! Anyway, here is the newest instalment for you guys :P**

* * *

It had grown silent in the camp as everyone had dispersed, most choosing to retire for the evening. Elena was not one of those people. She had instead opted for watching over the distraught Raven, who was sat with Finn's body, sobbing quietly while running her hands through his hair. Elena joined Raven, coming to a stop just behind the girl. She leaned down slightly and gently placed her hands on Raven's shoulders. "Raven, I think you should get some rest." She suggested, keeping her tone soft.

Raven shook her head profusely. "I don't want to leave him." Her eyes were filled to the brim with tears as she gazed upon the boy she had called family.

Crouching down beside the girl with a sigh, Elena placed a comforting hand on the mechanic's arm. "I know, but you need some sleep." Footsteps approached them, causing Elena to look up. Her eyes met with haunted blue ones that belonged to Clarke. The brunette had yet to say anything to Clarke, who immediately took to hiding herself away in one of the tents. She could tell Clarke had been crying as her eyes were slightly red and swollen and her cheeks glistened slightly in the light due her tears. The blonde appeared to be slightly frightened of confronting Raven, not that Elena blamed her, and chose to keep her gaze set on Elena. Without really knowing what to say, Elena stood up and stepped closer to Clarke, sparing a quick glance at Raven. "Clarke, I don't think-" Elena began to warn Clarke away from Raven, worried that Raven may try to hurt Clarke, but she didn't get to finish as she was interrupted.

"Go away." Raven spat at Clarke viciously, aiming her narrowed, icy gaze at Clarke.

Clarke shook her head, avoiding Elena and Raven's eyes. "Raven, I'm sorry." She whispered, feeling the tears burning in her eyes.

Raven stood up and stomped over to Clarke and Elena. "I said, go away!"

Clarke knew she deserved it. She hated herself just as much as Raven hated her right now. She was relieved that someone was finally yelling at her and she would happily take whatever Raven threw at her, but she needed to get that radio working. "I know how hard this must be for you, but I'm leaving with the grounders, and I need you to keep working on the radio."

Raven couldn't believe what she was hearing and felt disgusted at the girl she had once called her friend. She just lost Finn and all Clarke could care about was the stupid radio? A loud shuffling from behind them caught her attention. Two grounders had picked Finn's body up and were beginning to carry him off to god knows where. "What are you doing? What are you doing?" Raven screamed at them, attempting to run over and shove them off of Finn, but Elena had held her back.

"They need to take him now." Clarke informed Raven.

"Like hell they do!" She thrashed against Elena, trying to push the girl off of her, but Elena just held on tighter.

"Raven, please, just stop this!" Elena cried, gritting her teeth from the amount of effort it took to keep Raven in one place.

"Get off me, Elena!"

Clarke felt guilty as she watched Elena struggle with Raven, but thought that if she tried to help, Raven would only fight back even more. "Give us a minute, please." She begged the grounders, who placed Finn's body back on the ground and walked to the side, grumbling to one another in their mother tongue. "Raven…"

Raven whirled back round to face the blonde. "You agreed to this?"

"We're taking him back to the village where the massacre took place. There's a death ritual. It's the only way to get our people out of Mount Weather." She informed the two of them.

Raven hiccupped slightly, before sneering at Clarke. "Then I'm coming, too," she got up in Clarke's face, "and don't worry, I'll bring your damn radio." The heart-broken girl stormed off, leaving a slightly shaken up girl in her wake.

Elena nibbled at her bottom lip nervously as she kept her sight trained on Clarke. She really had no idea what to say that would bring comfort to her best friend. So she didn't use words, she simply opened up her arms and let Clarke stumble into them, wrapping the shorter girl up in a tight hug. One hand pulled itself through Clarke's golden waves as the other rubbed her back in soothing, circular motions.

* * *

While Elena was comforting her friends, Bellamy had taken to lying down on the bed in the tent he shared with his girlfriend. With his hands tucked under his head, he stared up at the ceiling, replaying the craziness which had occurred in the past couple of days. He thought about his people who were stuck in Mount Weather, who needed to be saved _now_, and about how much time was being wasted playing nice with the grounders. If the grounders could take down Mount Weather, then why had they been losing so far? An involuntary sigh left his lips as he wondered how much longer Elena would be. She needed sleep, but he knew she wouldn't rest until her friends were somewhat comforted. Her instincts told her to put the needs of others before her own, she was completely and frustratingly selfless (which he absolutely loved about her, don't get him wrong, but she needed to realise that there is a line at how selfless she could be before it affects her own health). This was how Elena found him; contemplating his thoughts. It had taken a while, but she'd finally managed to calm Clarke down enough for the blonde to give in to her exhaustion and accept defeat, turning in for the night. She wasn't sure if Bellamy had noticed her enter the tent yet, so she removed her jacket and shoes and climbed into the bed, cuddling into Bellamy's side. Judging by the way he looked at her with a slightly startled expression, he hadn't noticed her. The look was gone as soon as it came as he brought an arm down to wrap around her waist and bring her closer to him. Elena wanted nothing more that to just appreciate the quiet moment between the two of them and relish in the comfort his embrace brought. However, the nagging in the back of her mind prevented her from keeping the silence. She knew thoughts were probably racing through his mind at 100 mph, so she peered up at him, only to find him already watching her closely.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked quietly, bringing a hand up to idly trace patterns on his bare chest.

Bellamy turned on his side so that he could see her easily. "Everything." He answered honestly. He sounded unsure and lost, a feeling she knew all too well. She trailed her hand across his chest, up to his neck and over his cheek, eventually pulling it through his dark curls. "You knew Clarke would never have gone for the commander, didn't you?" It wasn't an accusation, merely a statement.

"I knew Clarke wasn't stupid enough to do something like that, yes." She tugged on his curls lightly, pulling him down so she could place a chaste kiss on his lips. "Can we not talk about this anymore, please?" She whispered against his lips. He nodded, kissing her again. Even though he was kissing her, Elena knew there was something distracting him, there was something else on his mind. So she pulled away, rolled him onto his back and straddled his waist, using her hands to pin him down. As she leaned down to look him in the eye, her long hair pooled around him, a few strands brushing his cheeks and jaw, almost making him feel trapped. There was no escape, he had to answer her now, were her thoughts during this moment. "What is it?"

Any other day, when something tragic hadn't happened, Bellamy would've laughed at the impatient, expectant look she gave him. He would comment on how demanding a princess she was; how she was like one of the kittens she had 'aww'd at when looking through on of the old books on the Ark trying to act like a tiger (which she had also 'aww'd at despite the fact the book stated that a tiger could very easily kill a human); but not today. No, instead he decided to confide in her without her having to coax it out of him, he let her bear some of the weight of his worries. "We're wasting time trying to please the grounders. If they haven't beaten Mount Weather by now, then what good will they be to us, Elena?"

She sat up, leaning back on her heals and watched as he busied his hands by tracing random patterns on her thighs. "The whole point of it is to join forces, Bell. Together we can take Mount Weather down." It was when he purposefully avoided her gaze that she knew he had a plan forming in his mind. One she wouldn't like in the slightest, no doubt. Her jaw clenched, wondering what crazy plan her boyfriend had formulated. "Whatever it is you're thinking, the answer is no."

There were times when Bellamy truly hated how well Elena knew him. For example, when he found out that she was actually a lot better at playing chess than she had let on, he may have moved a piece in his favour when she wasn't looking, but the brunette saw through him almost immediately and called cheat. As punishment, she had made him her servant for the rest of the day. Now was one of this times. Yes, he had a plan and yes, maybe it was slightly risky, but it was necessary. "An inside man would be more effective."

Elena frowned, confused about what he was talking about. "But we can't communicate with the- Wait a minute…" now she got it. "No way, Bellamy. It's too dangerous."

This was why he had wanted to talk to Clarke about it first, she'd probably be more likely to consider it. "Elena," he sat up and took her face in his hands, "It's our best chance at saving our friends."

"And if it doesn't work? If you get caught and you end up…" She couldn't even bring herself to finish her sentence. If the events of today had proved anything, it was that anything could happen at any given moment. Bellamy didn't answer because he too had thought of that possibility. "I'm not losing you." It was a declaration, one that promised that he would have to put a lot of work in to convince her to let him go. "You can try talking to Clarke, but she just lost Finn, she won't want to take the chances of losing you either." With that said, the girl climbed off of Bellamy and led back down on the bed, now facing away from him.

Bellamy held back a groan, knowing that was a sign that the discussion was over and that she was pissed with him. He turned to face her, edging closer to her, pulling the hair that concealed her neck out of away. Pressing his lips to her neck, he murmured "I'm sorry," though they both knew he wasn't apologising for the idea, just for the moment he chose to bring it up. He placed several more kisses on her neck before moving to her jaw, across her cheekbones, up to her temple and then down to the corner of her lips. He heard her let out a content sigh as she turn to lay on her back. Warm, chocolate brown eyes peered up at him, filled with sadness, fright and doubt, and he hated it. He hated making her feel this way. "I know you're scared, I am too, but having eyes and ears on the inside is the best way to go, you know that."

Elena didn't respond for a while, which made him nervous. His nerves were calmed, however, when she leaned up and covered his lips with her own before pulling back and smiling up at him weakly. "We'll speak to Clarke about it later, for now can we please just try to get some rest?"

Satisfied with her answer, he led back down and pulled her close to him, burying his face her neck. "Thank you, Princess."

* * *

The trek to the village had started. Raven hitched a ride on one of the grounders' carts, due to her bad leg, and the others walked close behind. Bellamy was eager to discuss his plan with Clarke, while Elena was definitely less than eager. However, she knew her boyfriend wouldn't give up on it until they had at least mentioned it to the blonde. So, with a roll of her eyes aimed towards Bellamy's demanding look, they quickened their pace to catch up with Clarke. The girl had been completely silent, staring straight ahead mindlessly, so it worried Elena when she caught her friend staring at a gap in the trees with a horrified expression.

"Clarke?" She called out gently, not wanting to startle her.

She snapped out of whatever trance she was in and turned to look at Elena. "Uh, yeah?"

Bellamy had also noticed Clarke's odd behaviour. "You doing all right?"

"Yeah." Clarke answered hastily, staring straight ahead of her again.

"You did the right thing." Bellamy tried assured her.

"Now I get to live with it. You still think this truce is a bad idea, don't you?" Her question was directed towards Bellamy, who shrugged.

"I think we're wasting time with politics while our friends are in trouble."

"We need their army to get to Mount Weather, Bellamy, and you know it." She told him exactly what Elena had told him.

And Bellamy told her exactly what he had told Elena, hoping his argument would work better with Clarke, though Elena highly doubted it. "Their army has been getting their ass kicked by Mount Weather forever. What we need is an inside man, someone to be our eyes and ears."

Clarke scoffed. "Forget it. It's too dangerous." She echoed Elena once again.

"Clarke, if you can make it out, I can make it in."

Clarke was having none of it though, she couldn't lose another person who was important to her. No, they'd find a way to save their friends without endangering anyone else. "I said no."

The man scoffed. Who made her chancellor? "Since I don't take orders from you, I'm gonna need a better reason."

Sighing at his stubbornness, Clarke's expression softened as she looked over at Bellamy. "I can't lose you too, okay?" She picked up her pace and walked away from them, wanting to be alone.

"I told you, Bell. Now can you please just drop it?" Elena pleaded, not wanting to hear anymore on the topic. He had always scolded her about being reckless, and yet here he was proposing a suicide mission. Admittedly, he did drop the subject, but she knew it would be brought up again one way or another.

* * *

Darkness had washed over the sky and the commander had called it a day on travelling to the village. Everyone had set up camp, but their was an unspoken divide in which one side consisted on grounders and the other the 'sky people' as they were referred to.

Bellamy watched as Clarke set a blanket down on the floor right by some grounders. He still didn't trust them and was worried that they may do something to her. "Clarke, it's safer on our side."

Clarke gave him an exasperated look. "We need to trust them, Bellamy. There are no more sides." Ignoring his reluctant look, she led down on her blanket, shifting around to get comfortable.

Elena observed the exchange and figured Clarke was right. She did something she knew Bellamy was really going to hate; she joined Clarke. She heard Bellamy growl quietly, before the sound of footsteps approached her and she felt a presence behind her. The man took a seat next to her, keeping his gun beside him. She knew he didn't plan on sleeping because he didn't trust the grounders one bit, nor did he want to. Deciding to just leave him to it, Elena whispered Clarke's name to get the blonde's attention. "Clarke?" She had heard the girl gasp quietly and noted that her body seemed to have tensed. "Are you okay?"

Clarke didn't turn around, she didn't want Elena to see the scared, disturbed look on her face and worry. Finn was beside her, looking right at her. She tried to keep her voice from shaking as she replied to the worried brunette. "I'm fine." She really hoped Elena would let it go.

With a sigh, she gave in. "Well, if you're sure…" A small smile made it's way to her lips as she felt Bellamy's hand idly playing with her hair, running his fingers through the tangled curls. She barely heard Clarke's reply as the therapeutic feeling of Bellamy stroking her hair coaxed her into the land of dreams.

"I am."

* * *

It had taken about a while, but they had finally made it back to the village where the massacre had taken place. Clarke and Elena both felt sick, reliving the moment they found Finn, while Bellamy tried to push back the memories, focusing more on the fact that they were completely surrounded by grounders who hated the 'sky people'. They were stopped by Gustus, Lexa's personal bodyguard, before they could enter the village.

"Weapons." He demanded, causing the sky people to cast nervous looks to each other.

Lincoln stepped forward, handing one of the grounders his knife. "We need to disarm before we enter." They all handed over their weapons, though Bellamy made sure to do so with a death glare. After taking one weapon after another (many of which came from many pockets on Raven's person), Gustus finally announced that they were clear and allowed the people of the sky to enter the village. There were many cheers as Lexa entered the area, which soon turned into yells and threats once the arkers **(A/N: Is that name a thing? It is now) **came into sight. Of course, they had no idea what exactly was being shouted, though they could make some pretty good guesses. There was a unanimous feeling of discomfort within the proclaimed outsiders as they all kept their eyes to the floor. One grounder stood in front of the commander, eyes trained on Clarke, Elena and Bellamy, who just happened to be at the front of the group. He's obviously not a fan of us, Elena thought as her eyes moved to Gustus, who approached the man and delivered several punches.

Clarke's ocean coloured orbs widened with the realisation that her people would be blamed for this man's beating. Jogging over to Lexa, she lightly tapped her shoulder, capturing the commander's attention. "Commander, stop him." Lexa made no move to do so. "Please, they'll blame us for this, too."

Lexa knew the blonde was right, so she gave the command to Gustus and scanned her people with a warning glare. "The Sky People march with us now. Anyone who tries to stop that will pay with their life." With that said and done, she marched on ahead, signalling everyone else's movement.

"Warm welcome." Bellamy muttered into his girlfriend's ear, who lightly elbowed his side and looked up at him with her own warning glare, though her's was much softer than the commander's (though she could muster up a glare worse than Lexa's, he reminded himself wearily).

* * *

It was sorrowful sight. Logs upon logs had been piled up and Finn's body, wrapped up in a sheet and rope, was placed on top of them. The people of the Ark watched on with heavy hearts, while the grounders eagerly awaited the moment they would get to watch the murderer burn. Elena's eyes, however, chose to settle on Raven. She couldn't imagine what the poor girl must be going through, watching the one she loved more than anything die and then later burn. Subconsciously, she reached out and grabbed Raven's hand, and though the girl didn't turn to look at her, she felt her squeeze her hand appreciatively. Lexa's voice cut through the tension filled silence as she spoke to the grounders in their native tongue.

"People of Tondc," Lincoln began translating for those who couldn't understand her, "in fire, we cleanse the pain of the past."

Lexa was handed a torch by Indra, but hesitated in setting the body alight. She turned to Clarke and offered her the torch. "Clarke."

Elena had always been able to read Clarke. She could predict her behaviour and thoughts in different situations, but she honestly didn't know what Clarke would do now. Would she accept the torch, perhaps as a sort of final goodbye, or would she refuse it, finding it too hard to deal with. For the first time, she wasn't able to tell, but she knew that either way, she wouldn't be surprised because they were both very Clarke like moves. And so, when Clarke walked forward and accepted the torch, she was the only one who didn't tense, or intake a sharp breath of surprise. Instead, she watched Clarke walk up the steps with a sad, understanding look on her face. The flames flickered and roared as they engulfed the body of Finn and everyone's reaction was different; Raven had tears dripping down her cheeks; Bellamy lowered his gaze to the floor; Abby closed her eyes, praying that Clarke would be able to recover from this; Marcus sighed and placed a hand on Abby's shoulder; Octavia pursued her lips and leaned into Lincoln, who's face remained blank; Elena whispered the grounder saying of 'your fight is over' after Clarke; and Clarke looked broken, empty even.

* * *

Bellamy, Elena, Raven, Octavia and Lincoln stood together in silence, awaiting any further instructions. Elena leaned into Bellamy's side, who had his arm wrapped around her, with a sigh. The silence was suffocating and she hated just waiting around when they could be actively doing something to help their friends. Contemplating whether to speak up, she bit down on her bottom lip. Deciding she couldn't take the silence anymore, coffee coloured eyes settled on Lincoln. "What happens next?" She had voiced the question on everyone's mind.

"A feast, with the leaders and other prominent members of both the sky people and the grounders." Lincoln answered.

Elena nodded. "Where the treaty is made official, right?"

"Yes."

* * *

Just as Lincoln said, they were called into one of the small buildings for a feast. The grounders were lined up one side with the commander in the middle and opposite were the sky people. Clarke faced the commander with her mother and Elena either side of her, making her feel a little less tense and a little more secure.

Elena's father came up beside her, holding out a bottle of alcohol to the commander with a smile. "Please accept this gift, Commander. We drink this at special occasions. I believe this qualifies."

Lexa nodded at Gustus, who took the bottle and handed it to her. She smiled at Marcus and nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Marcus of the Sky People."

He returned the gesture. "You're welcome, Lexa," As an after thought, he decided to try out some of the grounder language he had picked up, "kom trikru. Just don't drink too much of it." He joked, though Lexa probably wouldn't get it.

"Clarke," Lexa looked at the person who she had come to respect, "let us drink together."

"It would be my pleasure." Clarke replied. Gustus poured the liquid into two chalices and Lexa handed on to Clarke.

"Heda," Gustus cut in quickly, gesturing to the cup, "allow me." The commander handed him her drink, which he then took a sip of to test it. Elena held back an eye roll as she couldn't help but think it was the exact kind of thing Bellamy would do for her if she were in Lexa's position. Gustus seemed to approve of it and handed it back to Lexa as she made an announcement.

"Tonight we celebrate our newfound peace. Tomorrow we plan our war. To those we've lost and to those we shall soon find." She toasted to Finn and the rest of their people. She didn't get round to drinking it, however, as Gustus fell onto the table, struggling to breathe. He fell back and Bellamy smacked the cup from Clarke's hand, not wanting her to suffer the same fate.

"It's poison!" A grounder shouted.

Indra was quick to draw her sword and aim it at the arkers. "It was the Sky People."

A few grounders pulled apart the tables that were joined so they could reach the sky people as other grounders surrounded them from behind. Indra's sword was aimed right at Clarke, so Elena stood in front of her out of instinctive protectiveness. Bellamy mirrored her action, but moved to protect her rather than Clarke. Elena saw Clarke attempt to approach the commander and held the girl back out of fear of what the grounders would do to her. "Clarke, no," she grunted as the blonde struggled against her. Bellamy put his arm in front of the two for good measure, knowing he would be able to stop Clarke if Elena couldn't.

"This wasn't us. You have to know this wasn't us." Clarke pleaded, giving up on escaping Elena's grip and instead opting for yelling. "No. No. No. We didn't do this." Indra had shouted out a command and grounders were closing in on them, searching them for any poison. They ripped Elena away from Clarke, earning loud protests and randomly aimed hits from the girl. This of course had a ripple effect as Bellamy then began to try to help her, but was held back by more grounders, which set off Octavia and so on and so forth. As the grounder patted her down, Elena gave him the nastiest glare she could muster and tried once more to escape the grip of the other grounder.

Amidst the flurry of panic and anger, Lexa had stood to her full height and came face to face with Clarke. "Gustus warned me about you, but I didn't listen."

"Lexa, please…" Clarke begged.

Lexa didn't listen. "Tell me something, Clarke. When you plunged the knife into the heart of the boy you loved, did you not wish that it was mine?" Clarke's vision was no longer focused on Lexa, but rather on Finn, who had appeared behind her.

"Heda." One of the grounders who had searched Raven called out.

The other grounders let the rest of them go, allowing Elena to go over to Raven to ask what was going on. "What happened?" She asked quietly.

Raven shook her head at Elena. "It's not mine, Elena." This only created confusion.

"What's not yours?" Elena turned her head to the grounder who had spoken, who was now walking over to the commander, holding out a small vial for her to see.

Raven's protests picked up again. "That's not mine. I'm telling you, that's not mine." She screamed as he handed it to Lexa. "He put it there when he searched me." She accused the grounder, getting in his face. Elena pulled her back, not wanting her to get in even more trouble.

Lexa's faced nothing but fury as she glanced between Raven, Elena and Clarke before screaming, "no Sky person leaves this room." All of the grounders began marching out, following their Heda's moves.

Octavia turned to Lincoln with a desperate look on her face. "Do something." After all, he was a grounder, right? They'd listen to him.

Lincoln nodded and called out, "Indra." She didn't stop, so he shouted again, this time in grounder. The others assumed that it didn't work though when she slammed the door in his face.

* * *

Bellamy and Elena has settled down on some chairs in one of the corners of the room. Elena leaned forward as she held her head in her hands. She felt a hand run up and down her back.

"What are you thinking?" Bellamy asked her.

"I'm thinking," she paused for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts, "I…I don't know what to think." He leaned forward so that he could see her properly. Bringing her hands away from her face, she twisted her body round to fully face him. "This treaty is so fragile and if things like this keep happening then we're never going to save our friends." She said sadly. He sighed and wrapped an arm around her waist and placed one under her legs, lifting her so that she sat on his lap. She wound her arms around his neck and played with his curls. "I just wish all this could be easier."

"I know, Baby." Bellamy kissed her cheek.

Elena idly ran a hand through his hair. "There's no doubt in my mind that the vial isn't Raven's, we just need to figure out who's it is." She stood up and made her way over to her father with Bellamy trailing after her. "Dad, do you have any idea how that alcohol could have been poisoned?"

Marcus sighed and shook his head at his daughter. "No, that bottle hasn't left my bag."

"Where would any of our people even get poison like that anyway?" Elena said, voicing her thoughts to no one in particular. Everyone's attention as distracted by the sound of a smack.

Raven had punched Clarke and was now scowling at her. "You're the only murderer here." Elena, Abby and Octavia all ran over to the two, getting in between them. Raven turned to them, noticing the disapproving looks and defended herself. "She had the nerve to ask me if that poison was actually mine!"

"Leave me alone," Clarke suddenly muttered, looking spooked. The other four shared looks of confusion as they saw Clarke staring at a blank space. "You gave me no choice. Why did you turn yourself in?"

Abby grabbed Clarke by the shoulders, "Baby, you alright?" However, the blonde shook her head and pulled away, sitting down on a chair, breathing heavily.

* * *

While Abby tried to speak with Clarke, Elena tried to calm Raven down. "Raven, I know you're angry and worried, but we can't turn on each other right now." She said gently, not wanting to further anger the fiery mechanic.

"Turn on each other? It's a bit late for that! Clarke _killed_ Finn, Elena." Raven fought back loudly. The others, except Abby and Clarke, turned to look at them.

Elena inhaled and exhaled deeply. "She had no other choice. It was a mercy kill Raven, so that he didn't have to suffer from the grounders."

"She didn't even try to save him."

"That's a lie and you know it!" Elena's voice grew louder and louder as her frustration grew. "You saw her talking to Lexa, Raven, she was asking her to spare Finn, and when there was no way out of it, she made the difficult decision to do it herself; as quickly and as painless as possible."

Raven shook her head furiously, obviously still needing someone to blame for the whole situation. "She could've gone for the commander."

"In what world would both she and Finn have walked out of that alive?! She was surrounded by grounders, Raven, with only a small knife as defence!"

Scoffing at her, Raven sneered. She couldn't believe that Elena was actually trying to defend Clarke over this, especially when she had been by Raven's side throughout all of it. "God, you are _so _biased when it comes to Clarke! Of course, you'd let her get away with murder!"

Elena knew that Raven was still in mourning - processing what had happened - she knew that Raven just needed something or someone to vent out her anger and frustration on, but that comment really got to her. She knew what it felt like, killing someone out of mercy. After she killed Atom, she had felt sick to her stomach with guilt. She believed she was a murderer and she completely broke down when they returned to camp that night. If it wasn't for Bellamy, she was sure she would still, to this day, feel like a murderer, but the fact of the matter was that she saved Atom from a long, excruciating death. She didn't even do it alone, she and Bellamy had both done it together and she hadn't known Atom that well, so if she felt horrible for that, she couldn't even begin to comprehend how Clarke must have felt when it was the person she loved who she was killing. Elena's voice lowered, laced with sorrow. "You don't understand what it feels like, to do something like that. I get that you need someone to blame for everything because it makes you feel better, I do and I don't blame you for it. But you weren't the only one who was hurt, Raven. Clarke was hurt by it too and she will forever have to live with the fact that she killed him, but it wasn't out of cold blood. Finn's death was inevitable from the moment he turned himself in."

Raven didn't get the chance to reply as Clarke's voice cut across them. "What I did to Finn was nothing like what you did to him." Abby was crouched down in front of Clarke, holding her hands, while Clarke was glowering at her furiously. "I was protecting everyone, I didn't have a choice. You did."

"No." Abby denied, her voice raising.

"You turned him in."

"No. I trusted Thelonious to talk to your father and convince him not to go public." Elena could tell that Abby was fighting back tears.

Clarke scoffed at her mother. "You knew dad would never stop. You knew what would happen to him."

"I was protecting everyone, too. I was protecting you." Clarke pulled away and stood up. Abby followed suit. "Clarke, please."

The blonde suddenly looked disturbed as she whispered, "we are the same."

* * *

Elena and Raven and Clarke and Abby had all been kept apart. Raven now paced up and down alone, contemplating Elena's words, Abby was sat staring at nothing and Elena was stood by Octavia and Lincoln with Bellamy's arms around her in what looked like a loving gesture, but was really a type of lockdown.

"You said it yourself, Princess, we can't turn on each other." Bellamy whispered to her.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I wasn't turning on her, I was trying to make her understand that Clarke did what she had to and let go of me! I'm perfectly capable of not hitting anyone." She pushed herself away from him with a huff.

"Who would want her dead?" Her father asked, now addressing the entire room instead of just Clarke, who he had been quietly talking to.

"Too many to count." Lincoln was the one who answered. "Forming an alliance with you was a risk, especially after what Finn did to this village."

"So it had to be someone trying to break the alliance." Octavia figured with a knowing nod. The doors suddenly rattled as grounders entered the room. Bellamy traded places with Elena, placing her behind him and bringing Octavia behind him when she ran over to them. Everyone huddled together and stood facing the grounders. Nyko and Indra were the last to enter.

"How's Gustus?" Lincoln asked Nyko.

"Gustus will live." His friend replied, narrowing his eyes at Lincoln.

"Take her away." Indra ordered. Grounders began to walk over to Raven.

"Wait. Wait." Marcus shouted, joining everyone in creating a barrier in front of Raven. "What are you doing?"

Bellamy spoke up, defending her. "She didn't poison anyone."

Indra completely ignored the two, scowling at all of them. "I argued for all of you to die, but the commander is merciful. She wants only one."

Lincoln stepped forward, hoping Indra would believe him, or at least be more open to listening to him. "She's innocent."

"I don't care." The grounder woman walked forward, giving the other grounders the signal to grab Raven. "They move, they bleed."

"Wait, please! At least let us talk to Lexa." Elena took a deep breath and approach Indra very cautiously, ignoring the protests of Bellamy and Lincoln. Indra glared at her coldly and grabbed Elena's arm as soon as she reached her, drawing her in and aiming the tip of her sword at the girl's throat. Elena didn't back down though. She knew, in hindsight, that it was probably a stupid thing to do, but she didn't want to lose anyone else. She was fed up with having to grieve over the deaths of her people. She especially didn't want to lose Raven, who had quickly become one of her closest friends. "Think about it, Indra," she felt the sword dig in to her neck slightly when she said the woman's name, and felt blood dripping down, "it would be stupid and risky for one of us to try to poison your commander when we're at a huge disadvantage in both numbers and weapons." Elena made sure to speak calmly and evenly, really wanting to avoid having her throat slit. "All we have to do is figure out who wanted to end the alliance this badly."

Indra lowered her sword and pulled Elena closer. "When she's dead, so is the alliance." She hissed, making Elena shake her head in denial.

"No, please, Indra!" Elena pleaded as Octavia tried to stop the grounders from grabbing Raven.

"Stop, let her go!" Octavia shouted, trying to pull the grounder from Raven, but to no avail.

"The rest of you are free. You should run." Indra advised before walking out with the others.

"Damn it." Elena cursed, running out after them.

"Elena, wait!" Lincoln called, catching Elena by the arm. "That's not a good idea."

She faced him with anger filled eyes. "I'm not just gonna let them kill her for something she didn't do." She shook him off and ran up the stairs, out to where Raven was.

Once she was gone, Lincoln turned to Bellamy and Marcus. "Is she always this reckless?" They merely nodded with tired sighs and made a move to follow after her.

* * *

"I take no joy in this, Raven. But this time, justice will be done." Lexa stated, clutching her knife tightly.

Raven had been tied to a pole with her hands above her head. "I didn't do it. How is that justice?" Her voice trembled as she spoke.

"Wait!" A voice shouted, halting Lexa's movements as she turned to face the person, slightly surprised that a sky person had chosen to show their face. Elena walked out into view, but was stopped by two grounders who were on guard.

"Let her through." Lexa permitted her entrance.

Elena walked up to Lexa. "Please, Lexa, don't do this. She's innocent." She heard Indra growl and the sound of metal scrapping against something alerted her of Indra's sword being drawn once more. Most of the others had run out of the room and were now watching the interaction nervously.

Lexa held a hand up, proving herself to be more patient and accepting of the disruption. "Innocent, you say? She was found with the bottle, Elena."

"None of my people would do something like this, Lexa."

The commander cocked a brow at the determined girl. "Are you suggest that one of my people did this?" Elena noticed that Gustus had placed a hand on top of his sheathed sword, obviously telling her that she should choose her words carefully.

"Watch yourself, Child of the Sky." Indra growled.

Elena spared her a nervous glance, before turning back to Lexa. "I don't know, maybe. Until we discuss the matter, we can't be too sure."

"Enough!" Lexa exclaimed loudly. "I need no more proof than what I already have." Lexa faced Raven again and brought her knife up to the top of Raven's arm, using it to slice it open.

"No!" Elena cried, moving forward, but Indra took quick strides towards her and pointed her sword at Elena's stomach, stopping Elena from moving. She made sure to dig it in lightly, enough to draw blood, just like she had done before with Clarke. Much to her frustration, Elena made no pained sound, instead gritting her teeth.

"We have to do something." Bellamy muttered to Marcus as he heard Raven's pained wails.

Marcus held a hand against Bellamy's chest, pushing the younger man back. "We can't."

"Lincoln, talk to them." Octavia demanded, watching Lexa walk away and Indra pull back from Elena and towards Raven. Indra pulled Raven's shirt up enough to reveal her stomach and dragged her knife across the flesh, emitting a loud scream from Raven. "Lincoln, talk to them. These are your people." Octavia tried again, but Lincoln shook his head.

"Not anymore."

Elena's pleading brown eyes locked with Lexa's emotionless blue ones. "Please, stop this."

"I'm sorry it had to be this way, Elena." She replied in a monotonous voice.

"Are you?" The brunette spat angrily. With Indra distracted, she marched over to Lexa, who signalled for Gustus to stay in place. "You need this alliance as much as we do, without us you can't bring back reapers once they're dead and you won't be able to save your people who are trapped inside Mount Weather. We have the technology you need and you have the army we need and you can still have that, all I ask is that you let Raven go."

Lexa showed no emotion, though she was impressed by Elena's bravery and her loyalty to her friend. "I'm afraid I can't do that. It's a shame, you possess traits that my people would admire." She commented. "You should take your people and go while you still can."

"Stop." Clarke's voice rang out as she marched up to the entrance, just as Elena had done before. Both head strong women turned to her.

"Let her pass." Lexa once again permitted.

Clarke walked in with Bellamy and Abby close behind. Bellamy's eyes landed on the large blood stain on Elena's shirt from Indra's sword, making him clench his fist and jaw. Elena merely shook her head at him, silently telling him not to worry. "One of your people tried to kill you, Lexa, not one of mine." Clarke declared. "I can prove it." She took the bottle from Nyko and drank from it. Swallowing her large sip, she waited for a moment. Nothing happened.

"Explain." Lexa demanded.

"The poison wasn't in the bottle. It was in the cup."

"Still think this is justice?" Elena quipped, observing Lexa as she tried to grasp what was happening. Gustus spoke to the commander in their language, probably trying to convince her it was a trick.

Bellamy frowned, running the events through his mind before it hit him. He looked up at Gustus. "It was you. He tested the cup. He searched Raven."

Lexa argued. "Gustus would never harm me."

"You weren't the target. The alliance was."

"Raven didn't do this. We're all innocent." Elena stated.

Clarke nodded her head in agreement. "You know that, don't you, Lexa?"

Wanting conformation and an explanation, Lexa turned to Gustus, who defended himself reluctantly. "This alliance would cost you your life, Heda. I could not let that happen."

"This treachery will cost you yours." She replied quietly, not wanting to believe this. She gave the order for him to be tied up as Abby and Bellamy ran to get Raven down.

* * *

They all watched from the side as Gustus was cut multiple times. Abby was tending to Raven's wounds as Elena draped a blanket around her.

"This would've been Finn." Raven whispered. She looked at Elena, "I'm sorry for earlier."

Elena gave her a small smile and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "me too." And just like that, the spat between them was forgotten. Once everyone had cut Gustus, Lexa stood in front of Gustus, withdrew her sword and muttered, "yu gonplei ste odon," before killing him.

"We're not so different, are we?" Abby murmured to Marcus, who silently agreed with her.

* * *

After it was over, Elena approached Lexa. "I'm not sorry that Clarke managed to save Raven, but I am sorry that you had to kill someone you cared about and trusted."

Once again, Lexa's face portrayed no emotion. "Gustus was the one to blame. I apologise for the misunderstanding."

"How do you do that?" Elena asked.

"Do what?"

"Act like you don't care, because I know you do."

Lexa squared her shoulders, growing tired of this conversation. "I will tell you the same thing I told Clarke; love is weakness." With a nod of her head, she left Elena alone to process her words.

* * *

Elena's stomach wound had been treated and she was now sat with Bellamy, Octavia and Lincoln around a fire. They were silent, all mulling over what had happened. The boys sat on logs, while the girls had chosen to sit on the floor with their backs leaning against the logs. Elena rested her head on Bellamy's thigh, barely noticing that he was playing with her hair, like she normally does.

Lincoln was also distracted, or rather, he was curious. "How did you know it was Gustus?"

Bellamy glanced at him, before locking his gaze onto his girlfriend's figure. "He'd do anything for her, to protect her." Snapping out of his trance, he shrugged. "Just makes sense."

"Look at the thanks he got." Octavia said bitterly, not really liking the grounders' ways.

"Love isn't weakness. Love is strength." Elena spoke, rather randomly which gained confused looks from the other three. For the rest of the day she had thought about Lexa's words and how wrong she was. "Loving someone is the hardest thing a person can do because when you love someone you share their pain, all of their hurt, it makes you stronger; losing someone you love, but still allowing yourself to move on and continue loving others is what makes a person strong." By this point, she wasn't really aiming this at anyone, instead she was just confirming her revelation. "Love is what drives us to do anything we can to save the people we care about, so how can she think that love is weakness?"

"That's what we're taught to believe. Rule with your head, not your heart." Lincoln responded, catching on to the fact that Elena was talking about Lexa.

Elena frowned at him. "Well then, that's incredibly sad."

"That's how we survive."

"Guys!" Raven called out, interrupting the conversation.

Bellamy stood up, helping Elena up as well, "what is it?"

Raven held the radio up to them, "listen to this." Clarke walked over to them.

"This is Jasper. 47 of us are trapped inside Mount Weather." Jasper's voice came from the radio.

Clarke's face lit up. "Talk to him. Say something."

Raven merely shook her head, "it's repeating."

Octavia smiled, relieved that their friends were alive. "They're alive."

"We need to do this now." Bellamy stated, looking at Clarke. "You've got the alliance. Now is the time to use it."

"First, we need an inside man," she looked up at Bellamy, "you were right. Without someone on the inside to lower their defences, turn off the acid fog, an army is useless. You should go."

"I thought you hated that plan, that I would get myself killed." Bellamy replied.

"I was being weak. It's worth the risk."

Elena's jaw slackened at how cold and unfeeling Clarke sounded. "I see someone's taken a page out of Lexa's book." She muttered, noting the hurt look on Bellamy's face, making her want to shake some sense into Clarke.

The blonde held out some paper to Bellamy. "My map of Mount Weather. Find a way to get on that radio and talk to us. Good luck." She said, before walking off, leaving everyone stupefied at her behaviour.

Octavia was the first to snap out of it, turning to her brother. "Bell, how are you gonna-"

Lincoln cut her off by offering his help. "I can get you through the tunnels."

"You can't go back there, not yet." Octavia argued.

"Let me show you what to look for." Raven offered, gesturing for Bellamy to follow her. Elena went after them, wanting to give Lincoln and Octavia a moment alone.

* * *

Elena and Bellamy led down in one of the tents for one last time before Bellamy left for Mount Weather. They both led on their sides, facing each other, quietly drinking in the image of the other.

"I know you're not happy about this plan." Bellamy finally said, gently brushing his finger along her cheekbone.

"No, I'm not, but if you're willing to do this, then I'll help you in any way I can. Whether it's buying you time, or acting as a messenger between you and Lexa, I'll do whatever." Her reply was a mere whisper as she turned her head to kiss his palm, which had settled on her cheek. "Just promise me one thing."

He gave her a sweet smile. "Anything."

"Promise that you'll come back to me." Elena said in a small voice, sounding extremely vulnerable, which mad Bellamy feel as though he never wanted to leave her side.

Shuffling closer to her, he leaned down and nuzzled his nose against hers, like he did long ago when her mother had died, gaining the same quiet giggle from Elena. "I promise." He would always return to her, he thought as he pressed a kiss to her lips.


	25. Survival of the Fittest

**I apologise now for any misspellings/misinterpretations of the Trigedasleng language because I'm so clearly not fluent in it (sadly) and so I have used a website I found to help me out! Also, again, I'm sorry this took so long to write, but I've had work and I've been dealing with some personal issues so the story had to take a backseat for a while. Hopefully, I'll be back into the swing of things with quick updates next week, but no promises. Anyway, on with the chapter :)**

* * *

Elena fought tears as she watched Bellamy finish dressing in grounders clothes. She was terrified about letting him go to Mount Weather, but she didn't want to let him see her cry.

Once the jacket was on, Bellamy turned to her, noting to himself that she didn't do a very good job of masking her emotions, and pulled her into a hug. "I'll be back with our friends before you know it," he murmured into her ear, threading his fingers through her hair and taking in her sweet scent one last time. "Send me off with a smile?" He asked, kissing her neck before pulling back.

She took a deep breath, blinked back any tears threatening to escape and smiled up at him. "I know." Standing on her tiptoes, she brought her hands up to his face and pressed her lips to his lovingly. "I love you, Bellamy Blake. I know you can do this."

He chuckled and kissed her nose. "And I know that you'll keep the commander in check. I think she was impressed by your stubbornness."

Cinnamon coloured orbs rolled themselves at the mention of the grounder leader. "Aren't they all."

Bellamy shook his head with a smirk before capturing her lips in a kiss once more. "I'll see you soon, okay?" Elena nodded and watched as he walked over to Lincoln and Octavia, bidding his sister a quick goodbye before he set off with Lincoln.

When they were gone, Octavia walked over to Elena. "They can do this, right?"

"They've got this, now let's go and do our part." Elena replied, nudging O with her shoulder and walking off.

* * *

Elena and Octavia were situated at the side of the room, observing the group of grounders who were entering the room. Indra glanced at them and gave them a very brief, almost not there nod, which was returned with two more firm nods. The two self proclaimed sisters shared a look of worry, nervous about how this would all go down, but quickly straightened themselves up, not wanting to appear weak.

"Alright," Marcus made his way through the crowd, trying to achieve silence, "quiet down." He passed Indra, gesturing for her to join him, "Indra, please."

An ignorant guard leaned forward towards the girls with a cocky smirk. "Don't worry. My shock baton has got your backs."

Elena decided to not dignify that with a response. Octavia, however, couldn't hold her tongue. "How about you stick it up your ass instead?" She remarked, not glancing back at the guard as she said it. This earned her a slight snort from Elena, who had to bite her lip to keep herself from smiling out of pride.

"I know we don't have a lot in common," Marcus started his spiel, "but we do have a common enemy and a common goal. For us to reach it, to get our people out of Mount Weather, we need to work together," he looked at Indra, "ogeda: Skaikru en Trikru." Indra gave a nod of her head as a sign for him to continue. "Our survival depends on us sharing your knowledge…" Elena zoned out as her father droned on and frowned when she saw an angry-looking grounder, though admittedly that was the look of pretty much _every_ grounder around here, square up to Murphy, who look bored out of his mind. She watched quietly from her spot, but had a bad feeling about what was about to happen. The grounder murmured something to Murphy, who smirked arrogantly at the man. Obviously, the exchange was less than pleasant as the grounder knocked the cup **(A/N: I think it was a cup of water?) **out of Murphy's hand, causing Murphy to retaliate by pushing him back.

People began to surround them, but Marcus broke everything up. "Mr. Murphy, apologise to that man." He demanded, narrowing his eyes at Murphy.

"For what?" Murphy's words were directed at Kane, but his eyes never left the grounder, "he was the one who came at me."

Marcus knew he couldn't afford to let something like this go unpunished. "Two days' work detail."

"Work detail?" Murphy snapped, not liking the sentence one bit. "I just told you, I didn't do-"

"-Care to make it 3?" Holding back a growl, Murphy began to stalk off, but the grounder said something to him that made him turn back and deck him in the face. Of course, the grounder returned the favour, which led to another grounder attacking another sky person and so on and so forth. Marcus tried his best to quell everyone's anger, but nothing was working. "Knock it off. Stop! Stop. People, stop!"

"What do we do?" Octavia asked, turning to Elena with a panicked expression. Elena looked around at the scene wordlessly. She couldn't answer Octavia's question because, honestly, what could they do?

* * *

Thankfully, the fighting had come to an end…kind of. The out of hand, angry fighting had ended, but the controlled, trained fighting had now started. The large group of allies had moved out of the Ark and into the centre of the camp. The grounders were showing their stuff in hand to hand combat, impressing the people of the sky immensely; it was quite the spectacle.

"Impressive, aren't they? What doesn't kill them makes them stronger." Marcus said to Elena and Octavia as they joined his side.

"That's one way of looking at it," Elena muttered, not envying the guards who would have to train with them.

"Chon yu nes?" Indra called out, looking for a volunteer.

"I am." Octavia replied, confidence and determination oozing out of her.

Elena grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her back. "No, you're not."

Snatching her arm away, Octavia threw a half-hearted glare at Elena. "Yes, I am." She sauntered over to Indra. "We're supposed to train together, right?"

Indra ignored her for the most part, refusing to look at her and only gave her a blunt reply. "Only warriors train here."

The youngest Blake couldn't believe Indra was still acting this way towards her, "I saved your life."

"And now I'm saving yours."

Elena ran after Octavia when she saw the girl huff and walk away. "Octavia, what are you trying to achieve? You wouldn't have been able to win."

"How do you know that?" Octavia snapped, slightly offending at the lack of belief her normally encouraging big sister had in her.

"Have you seen them? They're huge and covered in armour. You're tiny and have no armour."

"I'm just trying to help!"

Elena scoffed at O's reasoning, "by getting yourself killed?"

"You said it yourself; Bell's doing his part and we have to do ours." The younger girl declared, echoing Elena's earlier words.

"By getting yourself beaten to the ground? That's not really what I had in mind… I meant by keeping the peace," she then thought back to earlier that day when both groups of people had their little spat and added as an after thought, "or trying, at least."

"I'm done sitting on the sidelines. I'm ready to fight and I think you should be too." Octavia attempted to sway Elena's decision, "the commander said it herself, you'd make a great grounder."

"Well, she didn't exactly say that and I don't even want to be a grounder! I just want our people to be safe." Elena argued, but she saw the look in Octavia's eyes and recognised it as the very same look that Bellamy got when he was determined to see something through. "You're not going to stop until I agree, are you?"

"I'm doing this no matter what you say." Octavia stated before grabbing Elena's hands in her own and softening her voice, "but I'd really like to do this together. You and me against the world?"

Elena bit her lip, feeling her resolve crumble at O's words. "You Blakes really know how to play me, don't you?"

Octavia beamed at her. "Is that a yes?"

With a sigh, Elena reluctantly nodded. "I'm not letting you do this alone. Me and you against the world, Little Blake." She wouldn't admit it to the girl who was currently squeezing the life out of her in a hug, but Elena was actually excited to see what she could become.

* * *

The girls had huddled up together, watching the guards go through their firing practice. Octavia busied herself with sharpening her sword while Elena watched intently for any tips that may better her ability for firing a gun.

"Child of the sky." A sharp, demanding voice rang out. The two brunettes looked up and saw Indra looking at them.

Elena recognised the little nickname Indra had called her when she was warning her away from Lexa and pointed at herself questioningly. Indra gave a brief nod and motioned her head to the side for Elena to join her where she had been over seeing the physical training. Elena stood up, hesitantly approaching Indra. "Yes?"

"Here." The woman shoved something into Elena's hands, catching her by surprising and knocking her slightly off balance. "The commander wanted me to give it to you."

Elena was speechless as she accepted the object, looking down at it. In her hands was a long, sheathed blade. Her eyes trailed up to the hilt of the sword, which had been wrapped in black leather and had a diamond-shaped pattern running along the middle of it. With a quick tug, she had unsheathed the sword and held it out in front of her. She marvelled as the silver blade glistened under the light, "wow," she breathed out.

Indra rolled her eyes at Elena's child like fascination. "I also have orders to make you my second."

This brought Elena's attention back to Indra immediately. "What? Why?"

"Those are my orders, I do not question them." Indra answered simply. "Just as you will not question the orders I will give you."

Not really sure how to answer that, Elena changed the topic. "What about Octavia?"

Indra raised a brow at the girl. "What about her?"

"She's proved herself to be more of a grounder than me, she told me about what happened with the reapers. Can't you make her your second, too?" Her question never received an answer though, as Indra screamed out to one of the grounders who had been speaking with her father.

"Pen! Chil yu daun!" The terrifying grounder woman marched over to them, glaring at the grounder who had been about to accept a gun. With a frown, Elena followed after her and returned to her place beside Octavia.

"It's all right. I offered." Her father assured Indra, but she merely scowled at him in return.

"We don't need your weapons." Turning back to her men, she barked out, "back to training, all of you." The group walked off obediently and Indra began to retreat back to her original place, but not before stopping in front of Elena. "I will speak with you later." Elena nodded in reply.

"Guns could keep them alive. It's like they're afraid of them." Marcus commented after the woman had left hearing range.

"They are." Octavia answered. "Legend has it, if a grounder picks up a gun, even to shoot another grounder, Mount Weather will wipe out their entire village. Can't have your blood supply defending themselves, right?"

"If we don't arm them, we can't win."

"Like hell, we can't." Octavia sheathed her sword and stomped over to the fighting ring. Elena quickly followed suit, ready to back Octavia up in whatever she had planned, but her father caught her arm.

"Where did you get that?" He gestured to the sword in her hand.

Elena shrugged nonchalantly. "A gift from the commander." She tried to leave, but Marcus kept her in place.

He wasn't about to let his daughter arm herself in a war with just a sword. "You need a gun."

"And you need to let me go." She glowered up at him with a look he knew all too well, which made his grip falter. In that moment, Elena was a carbon copy of her mother. Though her chocolate coloured eyes were an exact opposite to Serena's cyan coloured eyes, they had a fierceness about them and held nothing but pure determination. It was the exact look that Serena used to get when she disagreed with him and planned to make said disagreement known. Taking advantage of his distraction, Elena removed her arm from her father's grip and ran after Octavia, while Marcus could only watch on as he watched his little girl grow up right before his eyes.

* * *

It was pouring with rain and yet the training still continued. Elena looked out at the darkened sky from her place at main door of the Ark and silently wondered how Bellamy and Lincoln were getting on. Honestly, the thought that Bellamy was on his way to entering Mount Weather made her feel sick, but she knew she had to stay strong. She would see him again, she just knew it. Trawling her eyes over to the circle of grounders, she listened to Indra shout something at them in Trigedasleng, something she hoped she'd be able to learn one day. Back on the Ark, they all spoke one language, so it was fascinating to hear this new language being spoken. Elena had yet to speak with Indra about what exactly being a second entailed, but she assumed that it would be no easy task. She hadn't brought it up with Octavia yet either, deciding to let the girl cool off on her own for a while, after she got riled up by the ignorance of their people earlier.

"Eleina kom skaikru, you walk with us now." Indra shouted at Elena, making the brunette jump slightly. She quickly made her way over to Indra's side. "It seems that you sky people are incapable of making a good hunt." Elena wasn't going to argue with her on that one.

They began heading off, but Indra was brought face to face with Octavia. "Time for one more?"

"Step aside, Sky Girl. We're hungry." Indra warned her.

"Make me."

"Fio! Give this girl what she wants." The grounders separated, allowing a particularly strong, skilled looking grounder to walk forward. He swung his blade about threateningly. Protective instincts immediately kicked in, but Elena ignored them. allowing Octavia to prove herself to Indra once and for all. By this time, Kane and his guards had stopped what they were doing and began to watch.

Octavia approached the grounder, not looking one bit scared. The two circled around each other, sizing one another up. Fio fake lunged at Octavia, making her draw her sword up in front of her. "Let's do this." She whispered to herself, swinging her sword at the grounder, who easily dodged it. They fought for a few seconds before the grounder managed to get behind Octavia and kicked her from behind, making her stance falter slightly, before throwing her to the ground. The grounder turned his back, walking away from Octavia, who was led on the ground. "Hey, are you gonna give up that easily?" She taunted, picking herself back up.

"She wants more, oblige her." Indra ordered Fio, who happily swung his blade at the girl again. Octavia met him blow for blow, until he got closer to her and kicked her back, making her stumble, and took advantage of the fact that she wasn't looking at him to hit her in the face. She fell to the ground, panting.

Marcus became worried for the girl's safety and walked over to where Indra stood with his daughter, watching the fight. "Indra, stop this." The woman ignored him and instead demanded that Fio finish what he started.

Elena saw that Marcus was about to run out there, so she stepped in front of him and withdrew her sword, holding it up to him. "Give her more time." To say he was speechless would be an understatement, but she knew that O needed just a little longer to really prove herself to Indra. Octavia had recovered, using her sword to prop herself up, and lunged at the grounder, managing to land a few punches. However, luck wasn't on her side as the grounder retaliated much harder than before, sending her flying to the ground once more. The girl looked ready to pass out - at least she did to Fio - so the man turned his back to her once more, facing his fellow grounders to brag about his display of power. He underestimated Octavia Blake, though. She rose from the ground, covered in bruises, gashes and blood (which Elena knew she would be cleaning up later) and threw her fist at the man, who managed to catch it. That didn't stop O, though, as she spat in his face angrily. Bracing herself for what was about to come, O tensed her body as the man punched her and then kicked her. Fio raised his blade above his head, scowling down at Octavia and brought it down to slash her skin, but it was intercepted by another blade.

He looked up and saw the sky girl turned second glaring at him with darkened eyes. Her face was blank, void of emotion as she used all her might to lift her sword up, bringing his with it, and somehow manage to knock it out of his hands. She took advantage of his stupefied demeanour and brought her foot up to deliver a kick against his face and then used the same foot to smash against his chest and knock him to the floor, aiming her sword threateningly at him. "O and I are kind of a package deal. You mess with her, you mess with me." She shrugged and turned to help Octavia up, who was staring up at her in wonder while coughing and panting. "C'mere." She whispered to O, wrapping her arms around the girl and raising her into a sitting position. She was aware that the man behind her had pulled himself from the ground and was about to attack her, but she was also aware that Indra had approached the scene, making the man halt his movements. She looked at Indra with a determined expression, "I'm staying with Octavia."

Indra nodded slowly. "We start your training tomorrow."

Elena accepted that deal happily and return her attention to Octavia. "I'm gonna get you cleaned up, okay, O?" The younger teen nodded, trying to regain control of her breath as she leaned into Elena.

"What are you trying to prove?" Marcus demanded quietly as he reached the two girls.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Octavia panted heavily as Elena and Marcus helped her get to the medical bay.

* * *

"That was pretty badass of you." Octavia commented with a slight smirk, groaning as Elena dabbed one of her many wounds.

"That was pretty reckless of you." Elena mimicked, smiling at her. "But I get why you did it. I think it was enough to prove yourself to Indra, you know."

Octavia frowned, not really believing her best friend's words, and changed the subject. "Speaking of Indra, what's the deal with you two?"

The older brunette sighed, knowing she'd have to explain it to O eventually. "Lexa kind of demanded that Indra make me her second."

Octavia let out a rather undignified snort, "I knew that commander wanted you to be a grounder."

"I'm going to suggest to Indra that she should make you her second too."

"Not necessary." A strict sending voice came from behind Elena.

Octavia let out another groan and threw her head back. "What do you want?"

"You fought like a child today," Indra started, "all aggression, no thought, no defence, always leaving yourself exposed, revealing your next move before each strike."

Octavia had had enough. "Okay, I know. I got my ass kicked. That should make you happy."

"It does," Indra agreed, "because you did not give up. Strength of spirit like that is rare; it must be guided. You will be joining your friend, as long as you are willing to do what it takes to become a great warrior, Octavia of the Sky People." Both Indra and Elena kept the gazes trained on Octavia, waiting for the girl's answer.

Octavia, however, was still slightly skeptical about the offer. "What's in it for you?"

"First lesson: never question me."

"Okay. I'm in."

"Good." Indra said, satisfied. "You both start your training tomorrow."

* * *

The grounders had returned to camp with a several large animals for everyone to eat. The sky people all kept their distance, still not used to the food of this world.

Indra was the first to cut some of the meat. "Eat. Get strong. Only then will we win this war."

Marcus walked forward and accepted the plate Indra offered him. "Thank you." He caught sight of Octavia and walked over to her, confusing Elena as she had no idea what her father would want to discuss with Octavia, but figuring she would eventually be informed anyway. So, instead of following him, she joined Indra, who had sat down to eat her food.

"You and your friend work well together." Indra commented as she looked out into the fire.

Elena smiled at the compliment. She and Octavia had always understood each other and worked well together. Especially when they were teaming up against Bellamy. The thought made her smile turn into a smirk. "Yeah, well, like I said, we're a team. I'm glad you've taken her on as your second as well."

"She has true spirit, as do you. You handled yourself well today. It would seem that your true warrior spirit shines when those close to you are threatened."

Elena sighed and shrugged. Honestly, she had surprised even herself today. "I'd do anything for the ones I love." Her statement earned her a nod of approval.

"It's good you have that kind of attitude because in this war you're going to need it." The grounder woman gestured to the girl's plate of meat that she had yet to eat. "Now, eat. You need to conserve your energy for your training."


	26. Coup de Gräce

The next morning had come quickly and Elena had gotten little sleep. She had grown so accustomed to having Bellamy beside her, that she had found it difficult to sleep alone. Octavia had woken her up, eager to start their training together as Indra's seconds. They had made an agreement that they would get up early and practice their sword fighting, figuring a little extra practice wouldn't hurt anyone… they hoped, at least. Of course, what with the possibility of one of them - or someone else - getting hurt being very real, they had agreed to be very cautious when taking swipes at one another and to pick a place that was away from the main camp. However, before they started their impromptu practice, Octavia had other plans for them. She held out a bowl filled with a black liquid substance and a brush.

"Warpaint?" Elena asked incredulously, cocking a brow at her friend. She then followed it up with a shake of her head. "No, I told you I don't want to become a grounder. All I want to do is learn how to fight properly."

Octavia sighed. "This," she waved the bowl in front of Elena's face, "will show that we're serious about this!"

The older brunette gave an undignified snort of laughter, "because nothing says 'serious' like slapping a bit of paint on your face." Unfortunately for Elena, Octavia had learned from the best when it came to using the puppy dog face and mercilessly used it when necessary. Elena threw her head back with a loud groan, "oh, alright. If it makes you happy."

"It does. Besides, this will also show the sky people that we're not to be messed with." Octavia smirked, swirling the brush in the liquid to coat it.

Elena's brow furrowed as she frowned at Octavia, "'the sky people', you mean our people." The girl just shrugged at her, choosing to remain silent on the subject, and brought the brush up to Elena's face. Elena decided to let it go for now, opting to find out what O had planned for her face. "What are you painting on my face?"

"Butterfly wings." Was her answer. Octavia welcomed the new topic of discussion, silently thankful that Elena knew her well enough to know when she didn't want to talk about something. She didn't really know where she stood when it came to who she was; she never really felt like she belonged with the sky people, but learning the ways of the grounders with Lincoln made her feel like she had a place, only she wasn't truly a grounder yet. "They're kind of graceful, you know?"

Elena laughed lightly. "Not sure I'd describe myself as graceful, but okay."

"I think they suit you," Octavia smiled at her sister-figure, finishing up her design. She passed the bowl to Elena, who jokingly posed like one of the models they had seen in the old magazines Elena used to sneak into the Blake apartment, gaining herself a laugh from Octavia.

"Okay, let's see if I can capture your inner warrior." Elena said with a grin, lifting the brush up to Octavia's face. She dragged the brush around Octavia's eyes, "now shut your eyes," she instructed. Octavia did as she was told and Elena drew lines vertically down her face. She made sure to give the ends a pointed shape, like a blade, thinking it very appropriate. Stepping back, Elena admired her handy work and took in Octavia's image. She was slightly stunned as she realised the innocent, naïve girl who had been locked away in her apartment her entire life was gone and replaced with a strong-spirited young woman who was trying to find her place in the world. She smiled at Octavia, "your brother will be so proud when he returns and finds this brave warrior you've become."

Octavia beamed back at her, feeling warmed by her words. "Thank you. He'll be proud of you, too." She began to shuffle past Elena to the door of the tent, "we should go and train now."

"Octavia?" Elena spoke out suddenly, stopping Octavia from leaving.

"Yeah?"

Elena turned to face Octavia. "I know that you don't exactly feel like one of 'the sky people'. Honestly, I don't think anyone of the original 100 really do anymore. I mean, we were sent down here to die by our own people. I just wanted you to know that, even though you don't feel like you completely belong with them, you'll always have a home with me and Bellamy. Well, Bellamy's a given because obviously he's your brother, but you're my family, too, O. Even if you decide to become a full-fledged grounder, promise me you'll never forget that, okay?"

The heartfelt words brought tears to Octavia's eyes as she walked over to Elena and wrapped her arms around her, burying her face into the taller girl's shoulder. "Thank you."

* * *

Indra had heard swords clashing against each other and went to find out who was fighting against her orders. She was surprised - though she would never admit it - to find her two seconds practicing their sword fighting with one another. She remained silent for a moment, observing the girls and mentally noting what they would need to work on. Once the woman had made her presence known, the girls looked to her with sheepish expressions, waiting for the scolding they knew they were going to get.

Indra's face portrayed no emotion as her eyes moved between the two. "Your stance is wrong, you're clumsy on your feet and there is nowhere near enough power behind your swing," the girls exchanged a disappointed look, "but," Indra added, making the girls' heads snap back towards her, "I see potential." They spent the next couple of hours practicing with Indra giving them pointers, and found that they were actually improving quite quickly. Elena was surprised to find herself enjoying it. She felt empowered, being able to defend herself made her feel better about the war they would soon face. The way it made her feel reminded her of the first time she had shot a gun, back in the depot she had visited with Bellamy. The oddly fond memory brought a small smile to her face, but she quickly snapped out of it and refocused her attention on Indra and Octavia, who were fighting. She took note of all the corrections Indra was making and the way Indra herself was fighting, making sure she incorporated the moves into her own fighting. All in a day's work for a warrior, she thought to herself. Maybe she was more of a grounder than she had originally thought.

* * *

As Indra's seconds, it was their job to carry out any orders from the woman herself and to accompany her everywhere so that they learned all that they needed to learn. This meant that when Indra's team were to scout the area, Elena and Octavia had to join them. Octavia was certainly eager to put her newly acquired skills to the test, whereas Elena was more excited about getting away from camp for a while; away from the disapproving stares of the sky people; away from the worried glances her father had been casting them. The reason for scouting the area was simple: Clarke and Abby's return to Camp Jaha. So far they had yet to come across any stray mountain men, which Elena was thankful for because it meant that mother and daughter were both safe and, while she was all for protecting herself and others, she wouldn't go as far to actually wish for someone to be out here posing a threat, which she would have to eliminate. Unfortunately, this was, at least what she thought, prime time for the mountain men to make a move. She figured that if the mountain men were smart, they'd plan to kill one of the leaders, which would cause havoc and distress among the sky and tree people, which would give Mount Weather an easy victory. The group of grounders had come across two mountain men lurking in the bushes, hidden away from sight. One had a gun, which was readily aimed at their target - whom Elena would assume to be Clarke - while the other had a telescope, presumably to get a better aim. Indra had told Octavia and Elena to approach the men from one side, while she and one of her men came from the other. Just as the one with the gun got ready to fire, Indra had the grounder aim an arrow at the man's neck, killing him instantly, but also causing his aim to falter and the trigger to be pulled, which shot one of the grounders Clarke was with. The remaining man cautiously picked himself up from the ground, frantically looking around for where the arrow came from.

Octavia turned to Elena just as they were about to jump out. "Let me take this, please?"

Elena was reluctant, she'd rather not put O in danger but then again, who was she to say no? She did take on a grounder by herself. "Fine." Octavia gave her a nod and ran out, withdrawing her sword from it's sheath that rested on her back. Elena stayed back slightly, but still remained within distance to help her friend.

She looked up and noticed Indra's man ready to fire another arrow, but Indra stopped him. "No. Her kill." Octavia went to hit the man with her blade, but he managed to block it just in time. She opted for hitting his other side and in return he dragged his knife across her arm, making her let out a small cry of pain. She didn't give up though, and bent down, slashing a hole in his suit, which let the radiation infect his skin. He frantically tried to cover it up, letting out a string of 'no's. Octavia took advantage of his distraction and kicked the back of his knees, resulting in him falling to the ground. It was the perfect position for the second to grab the man's head and place her sword to his throat. "Finish it." Indra demanded, but Octavia was interrupted by Clarke before she could do so.

"Octavia, no!" The blonde called out. E;en turned and saw Clarke approaching them on a horse and her grounder guard. "He's from Mount Weather. We need to keep him alive. Check to see if he's got a patch kit. We've got to get him back to camp." Indra looked annoyed, but allowed it anyway. knowing she had to listen to Clarke. Octavia crouched down next to the screaming man and searched for the kit.

"You think he'll give us answers?" Elena asked Clarke, looking up at her.

Clarke nodded, "yeah, hopefully. After all, we did save his life." She smirked. They both turned back to Octavia, who pulled out some paper from one of the pockets. "What is that?"

Octavia sighed and walked over to Clarke, handing her the paper. "Clarke, you and Lexa were the targets." In Clarke's hand was a picture of herself and Lexa. A red circle was drawn around each of their faces.

"Thought as much," Elena shrugged, realising she had been right about the target. Everyone looked at her, confused as to what she was talking about. "Take down the leaders, cause chaos, make an easy win," she explained.

Clarke nodded in agreement. "Makes sense."

"We have to warn the commander," Indra looked at Clarke's grounder guard, "sen op oso mou snap hosa gon Tondisi. Nau!" She instructed. The grounder nodded and made the horse gallop off to complete his task.

* * *

They had rushed back to Camp Jaha. The grounder and the mountain man had been rushed into the medical bay. Octavia had immediately gone to see Raven, who was waiting for any word from Bellamy over the radio. Elena had chosen to go to the medical bay with the others, wanting to be of some help if she could.

"Jackson, we've got two patients," Abby said as the two men were carried in and placed on separate beds. "You've got the radiation burns, I've got the gunshot wound."

Clarke and Elena looked at each other, silently agreeing to go and oversee the mountain man's treatment and hopefully get some information from him. "This guy is from Mount Weather," Clarke informed Jackson, who was observing the patient, "we need to keep him alive. There was a tear in his suit, but we fixed it in the field." Jackson nodded and got to work just as Raven appeared at the girls' sides. "Anything from Bellamy?"

Clarke and Elena looked at the mechanic hopefully, but Raven merely shook her head at them, "no." She noticed the dejected look on Elena's face and sent her an apologetic look. Elena shook it off and gave Raven a quick smile.

"Then why aren't you at the radio?" Clarke snapped, ignoring the interaction between the two.

"Don't talk to her like that!" Elena rebuffed after hearing Clarke's harsh tone. Clarke sent her a quick glance, but nothing else.

"Octavia just took my place." Raven threw her hands in the air angrily. "How about you back off?"

Jackson was about to pull off the man's mask, which Elena had noticed just in time to warn him away from it. "Wouldn't do that if I were you."

He looked at her questioningly, but Clarke was the one to give him his answer this time. "It's the only thing keeping him alive."

"Well, how can we treat a guy if we can't touch him?" Jackson asked.

Raven was struck with an idea as her whole demeanour changed. "I can rig up some scrubbers in the airlock. Give me 20 minutes." She rushed off before anyone could say anything.

"Damn it, I'm losing him," They heard Abby cry out. "I need the blood now." Jackson jogged over to her and helped push down on the grounder's wound. "Come on. Stay with me." Abby moved so that she was beside his head and grabbed his face in her hands. "Come on. Fight." The grounder's slowly became dull as they fluttered to a close. "He's gone." She announced.

Indra walked in just as Abby said this and Elena dreaded what she was going to say. The woman walked over to the body and cut off a lock of the man's hair. "Yu gonplei ste odon." She then glared at Clarke as she walked towards the two girls. "A killer lives while a warrior dies? This is your way?"

"I'm sorry, Indra, but he," Clarke gestured to the man, "can help us beat Mount Weather."

"Then let me make him talk."

"No. We're not torturing him."

"Clarke's right." Abby joined the conversation. "He might just talk because we saved his life."

Indra shook her head and looked at them in distaste. "You people are so weak." And with that, she was stomping off out of the room.

Elena sighed and ran a hand through her hair, the slight noise capturing the other two women in the room. "I really hope this works because if it doesn't, Im pretty sure Indra is going to go on a killing spree," she paused for a moment before adding as an after thought, "and I wish I was kidding about that." Clarke and Abby just stared at her. "What?" She asked, unnerved by their stares.

"You're just so…" Abby tried to look for the right word, "different."

Elena shrugged in reply. "Turns out I fight better with a sword than a gun." She turned to Clarke, "I know you're under a lot of pressure right now, but the doesn't mean you can take it out on those who are helping you. You had no right to snap at Raven like that."

Clarke looked down at the ground, ashamed and regretful about the way she treated Raven. "I know, I didn't mean to. I just…" She trailed off, not knowing how to put how she felt into words.

Elena placed a comforting hand on her the blonde's shoulder, "I know, just make sure you apologise later." She pulled her friend in for a hug, "You're doing good." She whispered as she felt Clarke squeeze her back.

"Thanks."

"Anyway, I'll leave you two to talk." Clarke and Abby nodded, watching Elena walk out of the room.

* * *

Elena had met up with Octavia and they had collectively decided to go to engineering and see if Bellamy had got into contact yet.

"Raven," Octavia charged through the door, eager to get find out, "any word from Bellamy?" Elena walked in at a more leisurely pace. She noticed that Clarke was in the room and Raven was holding one of the devices that made a high frequency noise which neutralised reapers. She guessed that Clarke was finding out whether Raven can make more of them.

Raven shook her head, "nothing yet."

"Lincoln is still missing, too. He should be back by now." Octavia stressed.

"They'll be okay." Clarke placed a hand on Octavia's arm.

"They better be," Raven muttered, "your whole plan rests on Bellamy getting in."

"He will." Clarke retorted.

"Counsellor Kane and Clarke Griffin, please report to the south airlock immediately." A voice said on the P.A. System.

"We'll finish this later." Clarke declared, marching out of the room.

"She's really working my last nerve." Raven growled, glaring at the space Clarke once filled.

"I know things are tense between you two, but she's trying." Elena tried to defuse the situation, but try as she might, it just wouldn't work.

"She keeps barking out orders like she's in charge!"

Octavia rubbed her temples with her hands. "I'm done talking about this, I'm gonna ask Indra what she thinks we should do about Lincoln." She left the room, leaving Raven and Elena alone.

The latter walked over to the chair beside Raven and sat down, resting a hand on Raven's knee. "I know you're angry with Clarke and I don't agree with the way she's been talking to you, but everyone is tense right now, Raven. You know that." She spoke softly in an attempt to show that she wasn't siding with Clarke or having a go.

Raven nodded, "Yeah, I know." She went back to messing with the device, getting to work on making more. Elena leaned back in the chair, grateful for the silence that came with Raven concentrating on her work. It allowed her to relax and unwind a bit. They remained like this for another five minutes before Raven spoke up, keeping her gaze trained on her work. "So are you a grounder now?"

Elena huffed a laugh. Leave it to Raven to ask the question in it's most blunt form. "Not exactly, but being a second means learning how to fight well, which means I can protect more people. I have to admit, though, training with Indra truly is an experience; learning their ways and their language is pretty awesome."

Raven snorted and turned to her with a smirk, "becoming a badass with your little butterfly wings, huh?"

Shoving her shoulder lightly, Elena grinned back at her. "Shut up, Octavia did them and she said they suited me."

"They do. I think it's great that you doing this. You're totally going to have to show me how to use a sword!" Raven chuckled for the first time in what felt like years.

"It's nice to hear you laugh again," Elena smiled at her friend.

Raven smiled and rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"We're too late," A voice said from behind them, making them both jump. "They're already bleeding them." Clarke gritted her teeth out of frustration and anger, making Raven and Elena quickly sober up from their happy, light moods and exchange looks of worried and nervousness. "It's over."

"No. You don't get to give up, Clarke." Raven spat, standing up. "You killed Finn, and I didn't give up. I'm building a damn tone generator. You do your job."

"What is my job?" Clarke shouted.

"I don't know, to come up with something."

"I have tried."

"Camp Jaha, this is Mount Weather. Can anyone read me?" A very familiar voice sounded from the radio. All three girls snapped their heads towards the radio, not believing what they were hearing.

"Holy crap." Raven murmured, not believing her ears.

"Camp Jaha, this is Mount Weather. Can anyone read me?" Bellamy repeated. They all crowded around the radio, Raven scrambling to pick the speaker up and giving it to Clarke.

"Bellamy?" Clarke said in a voice that was just above a whisper.

"Clarke?" Bellamy asked. Hearing his voice brought tears to Elena's eyes as she closed them and breathed out a large sigh of relief, leaning into Raven who had wrapped an arm around her and was now rubbing her back.

Clarke licked her lips, willing herself to talk. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. That's it for the good news. We have to talk fast. Something has changed. Jasper, Monty, everyone, they just locked them in the dorm."

"But they're alive, all of them?"

"I think so, for now. Maya says that they're already using their blood, and things are gonna get ugly in here real fast." Bellamy relayed the information to them.

"Maya is with you?" Clarke asked, surprised that Maya had gotten more involved.

"She helped me escape. If not for her, I'd be dead." He paused for a moment before speaking up, "and Clarke, there are kids in here. We need a plan that doesn't kill everyone. Please tell me we have one."

"I hear you, but we can't do anything until you disable the acid fog." Clarke glanced at Raven, "Raven is gonna help you."

"Got it. What else?"

"You have to figure out a way to free the grounder prisoners. There's a whole army inside that mountain, and they don't even realise it."

On the other side of the line, Bellamy nodded, impressed with the plan. "Trojan horse. Good plan."

"What does Maya think? Is it doable?"

He looked over at Maya, who shook he head, worried about how they were going to achieve all of this. "She says it's not a problem." He lied, nodding at Maya. "Look, if I'm gonna pull this off, I need you to buy me some time. It won't be long before they realise I don't belong here, and if that happens-"

"That can't happen." Clarke cut him off. "I'll come up with something."

"Come up with it quick."

"Copy that, and Bellamy…" She waited for him to answer.

"Yeah?" He asked after a beat.

Clarke cracked a smile. "You came through."

"All I've done so far is not get killed."

"Keep doing that." She placed the radio on the side and wandered out of the room with Raven hot on her heels.

Elena picked up the radio and spoke into it. "Bellamy?" She bit her lip out of anticipation, hoping he was still there.

Maya and Bellamy had been ready to leave until he heard a voice say his name softly over the radio. Bellamy quickly picked the radio up again, wanting nothing more than to hear the voice again. "Elena?"

Elena sighed again, allowing a tear to slip down her cheek. "It's so good to hear your voice."

Bellamy allowed a small smile to grace his lips. "Yours, too."

"I was so worried."

"I'm fine, Princess." He reassured her. He was fine, for now at least. "How are things on your end?"

"Tense, and not just between us and the grounders. Nothing we can't handle, though."

"Good."

Elena never wanted to stop talking to him. She wanted to tell him all about becoming a second along with Octavia, she wanted to tell him that she was worried Clarke and Raven's friendship and just about Clarke in general, but she knew she couldn't. They both had work to do. "We should probably both get back to it." She couldn't bring herself to say the words 'good bye' to him. The words felt too final. They reminded her of the very real possibility that Bellamy's mission could go wrong. So instead she settled for, "I'll see you soon."

And Bellamy knew why she said that, because he had gone through the same thought process as his girlfriend. "Definitely," he finally answered. "I love you, Elena."

Elena nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see her. She pushed back the lump that had formed in her throat and replied, "I love you, too," before placing the radio down and walking out of the room after Clarke, passing Raven on her way.

* * *

Elena had managed to catch up with Clarke, who had gathered together a group of about 5 grounders, including Indra, as well as Octavia. She walked side by side with Clarke, the others following behind them. "What's going on?" Elena asked, confused.

Clarke glanced at her best friend before informing her of the plan. "I'm sending Emerson back to Mount Weather with a message."

Elena couldn't help but smirk slightly. "Overpowering your mom, huh?"

"She doesn't get to call the shots anymore." Clarke replied, returning the smirk. They reached the air lock where Emerson was being kept. There was a guard stationed outside of it, who immediately denied them access to the prisoner. "Don't." She snapped at the guard. She looked at Emerson, who smirked at the blonde. "Get dressed. You're coming with me."

* * *

They walked out of the Ark with Emerson in tow, safely covered by his suit. Abby and Marcus' jaws dropped when they saw their daughters leading a line of grounders out with Emerson behind them.

"What are you doing?" Marcus asked as he walked over to them with Abby.

"Clarke, stop." Abby added, coming face to face with her daughter.

"No, I'm letting the prisoner go." Clarke told them with a blank face.

"Absolutely not."

"He hasn't told us anything yet." Marcus said pointedly.

Clarke shrugged her shoulders. "He doesn't have to. He's gonna tell them something."

Abby ignored her daughter and turned to a guard. "Get the prisoner back to the airlock now."

"Yes, ma'am." Several guards moved to do as they were told, but were stopped by the grounders withdrawing their swords and aiming them at them. Elena and Octavia had joined the grounders in withdrawing their swords.

Clarke sent her mother a smug look. "You may be the chancellor, but I'm in charge."

Abby knew she wasn't changing Clarke's mind, so she turned to Indra. "Indra, tell your people to stand down before this gets out of hand."

"No can do." Elena answered before Indra could, sending the grounder a quick glance to check if she was angry that she had been cut off. To Elena's surprised, Indra merely nodded for the girl to continue. "Your way of doing things is getting us nowhere. Clarke's way will be much more effective."

Abby looked shocked at Elena's blatant show of disrespect. "People could get hurt."

Clarke was quick to respond. "Not if you get out of my way. You need to trust that I know what's right for us."

Sensing this was going nowhere fast, Marcus stepped in. "The grounders trust Clarke. Maybe we should, too."

"Stand down." Abby ordered. The guards lowered their weapons.

"Open the gate now." Clarke, walked towards the gate, turning to face Emerson. "Can you hear me all right? Because I need to make sure you get this."

"Loud and clear." Emerson responded.

"I have a message for your leader. We're coming for him. You're watching us, but you haven't seen a thing. The grounder army is bigger than you think, and even if you could find it, your acid fog can't hurt them, and now, thanks to you," she held up one of the devices that neutralise the reapers and turned it on, "neither can the Reapers. So you have one last chance. Let our people go, and we'll let you live. It's just that simple."

"I got it." Emerson breathed loudly.

She picked up his oxygen tank, "it's an 8-hour walk back to Mount Weather." Clarke released 2 hours worth of oxygen. "You're gonna do it in 6."

"6 hours? That's not enough. How am I supposed to deliver your message?"

"That's your problem. Now go." Emerson nodded and set off.

Octavia wasn't sure why Clarke was doing any of this and wanted some answers. She leaned towards Clarke and spoke in a hushed tone. "Clarke, You want to explain to me how this helps my brother?"

"I just told him we have a secret army to worry about. The more they're looking at us, the less they're looking at him." Clarke explained, "Bellamy is the key to everything, Octavia. If he dies, we die." She walked off as soon as she had finished talking, with the grounders following her lead. Octavia looked to Elena for confirmation.

"She's right, O." Elena nodded in agreement. "Now, c'mon," she cocked her head in the direction Clarke had left in and started walking after her. She really hoped this would work.

* * *

**Well, here is the next chapter for you guys, hope you enjoyed it :) Are you enjoying season 2? Do you like Elena's warrior role or would you have preferred to see her act as a leader? Let me know! Until next time~**


	27. Rubicon

**Here's the next chapter for you guys! Hope you enjoy it :)**

* * *

Being stuck at Tondc wasn't all that bad. It allowed time for more training and the meeting of the 12 clans was occurring soon, which Elena would be listening to, as long as Indra didn't decide different at the last-minute. The only down side was that she didn't have a constant update on what was happening with Bellamy. However, Raven was by the radio, so she knew she'd be informed if anything happened. The meeting was keeping Indra busy, which allowed Elena and Octavia to take a break for a while. Octavia was still fretting over Lincoln, pacing all over the place, wringing her hands nervously. She had brought the topic up with Indra, but the grounder was pulled away from her before she got an answer.

Quite frankly, Octavia's constant pacing was making Elena a little dizzy, so she stood in Octavia's path and placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Octavia, stop pacing. Lincoln will be fine." She shook the youngest Blake slightly to add emphasis to her point. "He's strong, like you."

"He should have returned by now, Elena." Octavia cried out, ignoring the few glares she got from the grounders surrounding them, "what if they caught him? What if he's become a reaper again?"

Okay, so she had a point, Elena thought to herself. She knew that it was highly possible he could have become a reaper again, after all, Bellamy was in Mount Weather and Lincoln wasn't with him, nor had he returned home yet. "Then we'll bring him back, just like last time."

Octavia nodded in agreement, "you're right. We have to go and look for him."

Elena was taken aback by Octavia's sudden declaration. "Right now? We can't, the meeting's happening soon, Indra said we need to be there."

"Elena, it's Lincoln. We have to go."

"Go where?" A voice boomed from behind them, making them look at the person. It was Indra and she knew that they were up to no good.

Sensing the opportunity to finally talk to Indra about it, Octavia was the one to answer. "Look, Indra, Bellamy left Lincoln in the tunnels two days ago, and he should be back-"

Indra cut her off, not having the time or the patience to listen to Octavia's woes. "Lincoln is no longer your concern."

The girl look shocked and hurt by her words. "I've done everything you've asked me to do, and I'll continue to do so, but what you're asking now is impossible. I have to look for him!"

"I'm not asking. We're at war, and a warrior does not mourn those she's lost till after the battle is won." Indra glared at the girl until she conceded with a reluctant nod, knowing not to go up against her orders. "Go stand watch with the other seconds. Assassins from the mountain will try again. We need to be ready." Octavia was about to protest, but thought better of it and walked off.

Elena would have joined her immediately, offering her comforting words and support, if she hadn't have seen her father arrive when it should have been Clarke in his place. "Why is he here?" Elena muttered to herself, capturing Indra's attention. She glanced at the woman, "can i?" she asked, gesturing to her father.

Indra nodded. "Be quick."

* * *

"Dad, what are you doing here? You should be back at camp." Elena said as she approached her father, not even giving him time to answer before she realised that he must have come bearing bad news, "did something happen to my friends? Is it Bellamy?" She felt panic rise within her at the thought of her friends in trouble, at least even more so than they already are.

Marcus recognised the look of worry in his daughter's eyes and placed his hands on her shoulders, giving them a light squeeze. "I'm sure Bellamy is fine, but I don't know about your friends."

Her brow furrowed from both confusion and worry. "What's going on?"

"Clarke didn't say what exactly, but I'm fairly certain something isn't going to plan."

"I need to talk to Clarke. When is she getting here?"

He shrugged, feeling helpless. "She's not. Clarke stayed back at camp, I'm here in her place."

"Okay, well, the meeting is starting soon. You should get in there."

"What about you?"

Elena shook her head and sighed, "I was going to be in there, but Octavia and Indra had a disagreement of sorts and now Indra has ordered us to stand watch." She reached up and wrapped her arms around her father's neck in a hug, something she hadn't done for a while. "Let me know how it goes, though, okay?"

"Will do," he replied, returning the hug and pressing a kiss to the crown of her head. He had missed this feeling; the feeling of having his little girl safe and sound in his arms. It felt like he had finally got her back after a long time of arguments and tension.

* * *

Elena joined Octavia on watch. She immediately took note of the less than thrilled expression on Octavia's face as the younger girl scowled at nothing in particular. "You okay there, O?"

Octavia snapped out of her trance and looked up at Elena. "How could she ask me to just forget about Lincoln?" She threw her hands up, extremely agitated. "I mean, would you be able to just forget about Bellamy if it was him out there?"

"No, of course not." Elena answered instantly. There was no way she would ever have been able to forget Bellamy, even if she did want to, which she wouldn't. "But how would you know where to find him? We just happened to come across him last time and we had Bellamy there to help us."

"I can't just give up on him, Lena." Before she could reply, the sound of horses galloping rang out. Elena turned to look in the direction of the noise and saw Clarke and Ryder approaching them. Once the blonde had reached them, she jumped off of the horse. "Clarke, you made it." Octavia said, walking up to her.

"I thought you weren't coming." Elena added, joining the two.

"I need you to take me to Lexa." Clarke stated.

Octavia stopped her, worried about what Clarke needed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Clarke replied.

"Is Bellamy ready? Did he get the acid fog down?"

"He's working on it."

Octavia and Elena began leading Clarke to where Lexa would be, but didn't need to as they were met with the commander herself walking up to them with Marcus beside her. "Clarke of the Sky people has honoured us with her presence." Lexa quipped, glaring slightly at Clarke.

Clarke sighed, "I'm sorry I'm late, Commander."

"You made good time," Marcus spoke up, "I assume the kids at Mount Weather are okay."

"For now." Clarke nodded, before turning to Lexa. "Can we talk in private?"

"Yes. This way." Lexa led Clarke away from them.

"What is that all about?" Octavia murmured to Elena, who was frowning, confused about why Clarke wouldn't tell her what was going on.

"I have no idea."

* * *

Elena and Octavia were back to standing watch with Atohl, another second. Luckily, Elena had been able to convince Octavia to focus on doing their part of the plan and not looking for Lincoln, but now it was Elena who was more distracted out of the two. She knew something was up with the way Clarke came barging in to the place after she had sent Marcus in her place. Something was wrong, she just didn't know what.

"I should be at the meeting, not watching the trees with you." Atohl complained, glaring at the two girls in front of him.

Elena was getting sick of his attitude towards them. The entire time they'd been here, he'd been making digs and glaring at them. "You know, we may be 'sky people', but we still managed to become seconds, just like you did. We are in the same position as you, so quit your whining and grow up." She heard him growl slightly, but they were all distracted by a rustling in the bushes.

"Quiet. There's someone out there." Octavia whispered to them.

"This one's mine." Atohl declared. He ran off, disappearing behind the many trees of the forest. Octavia and Elena took a few steps forward, ducking down behind a bush, trying to find Atohl, but he was completely gone. "Atohl?" Octavia called out in a hushed tone. A bush shook and groaning was heard in the distance. Octavia looked at Elena, silently asking what they should do. They both wanted to help him, but they didn't know whether they should inform someone else. Making a rash decision, Elena nodded her head at Octavia and began moving forward towards the bush with Octavia closely following her. They got to the area where Atohl had disappeared to and scanned the place for any signs of him. Octavia's eyes landed on a figure, which didn't belong to Atohl, moving. She nudged Elena and cocked her head towards the person. They withdrew their swords and cautiously approached the area, keeping their footing light so they didn't make too much noise. Octavia let out a small gasp when they saw what was happening. Atohl was unconscious, led on the floor while someone was tying him up. It was Lincoln.

"Lincoln." Octavia yelled, but Lincoln just carried on tying Atohl up. The girls walked forward. "What are you doing? Get away from him." Again, he ignored her. She marched up to him, grabbed his shoulder and threw him back.

"Octavia!" Elena exclaimed, rushing forward to where Octavia stood, holding her sword out to Lincoln. "What are you doing?"

The girl didn't respond to her, instead she carried on glaring at Lincoln. "I said get away from him!"

Lincoln had rolled back, but landed on his feet again, remaining crouched on the floor. His eyes shifted from Octavia to her sword, which was still aimed right at him. He looked like he was in pain as he gritted his teeth and spoke. "You don't understand. I can't fight it."

"Yes, you can." Octavia crouched down in front of him. "We can."

"I betrayed your brother. He's a prisoner in the mountain because of me."

"Lincoln, I don't know what happened between you two, but Bellamy made it, he's fine. We've got our inside man. Now I need you to come with me." She reached out and placed her hand on his. He shook his head. Elena couldn't see Octavia's face, but she was pretty sure she looked pissed off as Octavia drew her hand back and punch Lincoln in the face with it. Honestly, Elena thought Bellamy would be proud. "Ge smak daun, gyon op nodotaim!" She spat out a popular grounder phrase. Lincoln looked surprised and angry at the same time. "Grounders don't give up. We fight. Either you get up and we fight this, or you crawl away and die alone like a coward." Octavia's voice cracked slightly. "It's your choice."

* * *

Lincoln decided to join them. They had let him rest for a while, letting some of the drug pass out of his system. Eventually, they began heading back. Lincoln was carrying Atohl over his shoulder, figuring they couldn't just leave him alone in the woods.

"You had us worried for a second there." Elena smiled at Lincoln.

"I'm sorry." He replied, giving her a brief smile before turning to Octavia. "Thank you." Octavia reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. The happy moment was ruined, however, when something that looked a lot like a flare flew over their heads, heading towards the village.

"What is tha-" Elena began, but was cut off by a huge explosion, which threw them all to the ground. When the explosion had died down, she was met with a lot of smoke and a ringing in her ears. She looked to check that Octavia and Lincoln were okay. "Are you guys okay?" She asked, slowly sitting up. The others were in the same position as she was, a ringing in their ears, but no lasting damage. They nodded to let her know they were fine. "The hell just happened?" Elena muttered, standing up and ribbing her temples.

* * *

They ran back to Tondc. Lincoln placed Atohl on the floor against the tree so that he was safe and out of the way. The three climbed up some of the rubble to get a better look at the damage that had been caused. It was awful. People were crying and screaming, clutching the bodies of their loved ones close to them. Some were collapsing due to the injuries they had sustained and many of them wouldn't make it. The buildinga were destroyed, fire surrounded them. It was pure chaos.


	28. Resurrection

**Two chapters within 24 hours? I'm on a roll!**

* * *

Elena spotted Abby running back into the village, observing the damage. "Abby!" She called out, relieved that she was safe. She ran over to her and wrapped her arms around her mother's best friend.

Abby returned the hug, thankful that her daughter's actions hadn't led to Elena being killed. "I'm so glad you're safe."

"You too."

Pulling back, Abby cupped her hands around Elena's face. "I need you to help me tend to the injured."

"What about Clarke? One of us should go look for her." Elena argued, her face the epitome of worry.

Abby pushed back he lump in her throat. She didn't have the heart to tell Elena about Clarke knowing and escaping. "She'll be fine, but there are people who need our help right now." Elena reluctantly agreed and the two went to seek out any medical supplies they could find.

* * *

"We need bandages!" Nyko shouted out to anyone within the vicinity. He was carrying a woman who was severely injured and needed medical attention urgently.

Abby rushed over to him, holding out the bandages, "right here."

He examined the woman and saw that she wasn't going to survive much longer, even with medical attention. "It's no use."

"She's still alive." Abby argued, not wanting to give up on the woman.

Nyko looked at the doctor, who looked oddly guilty. "We save those who can be saved."

"Abby, come on." Elena said softly, having seen what was transpiring. She placed her hands on Abby's shoulders, "we have to prioritise, as awful as it sounds." Nyko nodded to Elena and left to tend to others.

Abby put her hand on top of Elena's, leaning down to the woman and whispering, "I'm so sorry," before standing up and looking for more patients with Elena.

"Abby, have you seen my dad?" Elena asked, clearly panicking. She felt sick. Her dad was in Tondc, what if he got caught in the fire? What if he was dead?

"We'll find him." Abby assured her, rubbing the brunette's back comfortingly.

Elena glanced at her and nodded wearily. Up ahead, Octavia was seeing to an injured woman, placing a wet rag to her forehead, trying to bring her temperature down. Elena ran over to her and examined the woman while Abby saw to another person who was crying out in pain. It seemed that the woman Elena was seeing to had hit her head quite hard, something Elena knew all about, and had concussion. However, it was a very minor injury compared to everyone else. Another grounder passed her and she reached out and grabbed his arm. "Stay with her, keep her awake and talking, try to bring down her fever." She instructed. It seemed that the grounder was surprised by her no-room-for-argument tone as he merely nodded and sat by the woman's side, taking the cloth from Octavia.

Octavia nodded to herself, impressed that Elena got one of the stubborn grounders to do as she say, though in this situation no one was likely to argue about taking care of the injured. She noticed Lincoln was by one of the collapsed buildings, moving some of the rubble out of the way so that he could hear anyone who may be stuck underneath it. "Lincoln, be careful," she warned, worried that he may get hurt by the rubble caving in, "it's not stable."

"They're down there." He replied, leaning his ear against part of the ruins. He started lifting parts of it up, tossing them to the side.

"Do you hear someone?" Abby asked.

Octavia noticed the grief stricken expression on the chancellor's face and ran over to her to comfort her. "Abby, I'm sure Clarke is okay. We'll find her." Abby didn't respond. She felt guilty when Elena had wanted to look for Clarke, worried about the girl's safety, and every time she had seen an injured or dead person, knowing Clarke could have prevented this. Octavia's words of comfort only brought about more guilt.

"Indra." Lincoln shouted, having finally managed to lift the large part of the building off of the woman. "She's alive." Octavia, Abby and Elena all ran over to them, watching Lincoln pull her body out from under the rubble with a loud grunt.

Indra struggled to get away from him, shouting "Set ai daun, ripa!" Her reaction annoyed Elena, here Lincoln was saving her life and she tried to get away from him. However, she knew that the grounders had spent their lives worrying about the reapers and who they would take next and until very recently Lincoln had been one, so she supposed she could kind of see where Indra was coming from. Indra managed to stand up and looked around at the damage, visibly shocked at what she saw. A sharp sounding gun shot rang out and Indra's body jerked backwards, before falling to the floor. Another shot was made, narrowly missing Lincoln.

"Mountain men!" Elena exclaimed, the others nodding at her in agreement. They knew they had to get out of there, so Abby ran off to help others while Lincoln picked Indra up and told Octavia and Elena to take cover.

* * *

Lincoln set Indra down, leaning her against a large bit of ruin that would keep them covered. Octavia and Elena were settled behind another bit of rubble just a small distance away from them.

Nyko was the other side of them, looking at Lincoln and Indra. He tried to make a run for it, but the sniper shot at him, making take cover once again. Instead, he decided to instruct Lincoln on what to do. "Lincoln, you must stop the bleeding."

Lincoln nodded and tried to apply pressure to the wound, but Indra shoved him away from her. "Indra, let me help you."

"No." She protested, pushing him away again. Elena sighed, knowing how stubborn the woman was and prepared herself to make a run for it. They weren't too far away, she could do this. In the back of her mind, she could already hear Bellamy scolding her for being so reckless, but needs must, right? Inhaling a deep breath, she launched herself forward, sprinting over to Lincoln and Indra, only just missing the bullet being fired at her.

"Are you crazy?" Lincoln hissed as soon as she reached them.

"Maybe." She answered honestly, taking his place in front of Indra when he moved out of the way for her. "Let me help you, Indra." The woman nodded, stopping her struggling and allowing Elena to put pressure on the wound.

"What do we do?" Octavia asked no one in particular. A grounder made a break for it, attempting to reach the mountain man. Octavia screamed for him to stop, but he was shot down.

"We're trapped." Caris, another second, stated, looking at Octavia.

"I say we use the Sky Girl to draw fire." Atohl, the grounder from earlier, suggested with a glare that was directed at Octavia.

"You got a problem?" She spat in response.

"Yes, you are the bringers of death."

"Someone is alive down there!" Abby screamed, making everyone look at her. She was by what once was one of the underground buildings. "I've got to get down there."

"We've got to get away form here." Lincoln muttered.

"How? We'll just get shot." Elena argued.

Lincoln gently nudged her out of the way and picked Indra up, placing her over his shoulders. "Follow me." He got up and made a break for it, telling Octavia to run with them once they passed her. Elena grabbed her arm and pulled her up from the ground, making sure to keep her close. Elena saw Abby crawl over to where she heard the noise from before. Elena understood what Lincoln was doing now, not only was he getting Indra to somewhere she can be helped, but it proved to be a distraction so that Abby could reach the person who was trapped. Lincoln led Indra down on the floor in front of Nyko.

"What are we gonna do?" The grounder healer asked. "We can't move."

"I'm going for the shooter." Lincoln informed him, "I'll sound the horn when it's done."

Nyko nodded. "All right, my friend."

"I'm going with you." Octavia told him, making Lincoln look at her.

"No, Nyko needs you here."

"Are you sure you're up to this?"

Lincoln placed a hand on her cheek and leaned towards her. "Ge smak daun, gyon op nodotaim." He pressed his forehead against hers as she nodded understandingly.

"O," Elena placed her hand on Octavia's arm, but kept her eyes on Lincoln. "He's got this." Lincoln nodded at her before running off. Elena reached forward and put pressure back on Indra's wound again.

The woman grunted in agony, but turned to face Octavia and Elena. "This is my village. You're the chief seconds. Save our people."

Octavia and Elena shared a look of disbelief, talk about asking the impossible. "We're pinned down, and the other seconds won't follow us." Octavia replied.

"So make them." Indra panted, her eyes beginning to close.

"We have to make the bleeding stop." Elena tried applying more pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding, but to no avail. She looked up at Nyko with a desperate look in her eyes. "Nyko, please tell me you have something that can help her!"

Octavia looked back at the other two seconds. "We have to do something."

"Thanks, Sky Girl, but there's nothing to do until the sniper is dead." Caris said bitterly.

* * *

It was light, meaning they weren't as well hidden like they were before. The sniper was still being shot, more and more people were being taken down. Elena, Octavia, Caris and Atohl were still taking cover behind the rubble.

"We can't wait anymore." Atohl stated. "Our people are dying down there."

"There has to be something we can do to help Abby, O." Elena murmured to Octavia. It turns out that in trying to help free the trapped person, Abby had managed to get herself trapped when the building collapsed once more.

Octavia nodded and peered out from their cover. She noticed a pile of rubble that could be easily moved and got an idea. "If we can get to the crater, we can tunnel in from the side."

Caris didn't like the idea, in her opinion they could be too easily killed. "There's no cover."

"We don't have much choice." Elena defended Octavia.

"I'll do it." Atohl said, taking a sip of alcohol, which would be really good right now to drink, if not that then to start a fire to hide them. Wait a minute… Atohl started running, but was immediately shot at. Luckily, the bullet missed him and Elena and Octavia were able to drag him back behind cover.

"Any other bad ideas?" Caris remarked, coming up behind the girls.

"Just one." She heard Octavia mutter, and knew that they were one the same page. Elena grabbed the bottle and threw it into the small fire in the middle of the crater, creating an explosion, which covered the area in flames and smoke, allowing them to get to where they needed to be.

"Let's go!" Elena murmured, running to the middle of the crater with Octavia right behind her. Atohl and Caris followed them, both smirking at the girls, impressed by their plan.

"Now what, Sky Girls?" Caris inquired.

"Now we dig." Octavia declared, smirking back at them. They began to pull the rocks away to clear the tunnel.

"Stay down." Elena warned them, knowing the smoke wouldn't last forever and the man was now shooting randomly, but might get a lucky shot.

* * *

It was hard work, but they had made it inside the tunnel. They were now clearing up the rubble that was blocking the path.

"It's no use." Caris cried. They were all exhausted. The stone was extremely heavy and there was a lot of it.

However, Octavia Blake was not a quitter, and neither was Elena Kane. "Come on, we can do this!" Octavia replied, trying to motivate Caris.

"We have to." Elena added, looking at the grounder, who nodded back, once again determined. The familiar sound of a horn filled the air.

"Wait, listen." Caris whispered.

Octavia smiled. "Lincoln." They all climbed out of the tunnel.

Elena sighed a sigh of relief. This would make things a lot easier for them. "He did it."

"We still can't get them out." Caris pointed out, thinking it was still too hard to remove all of the rubble.

"Wanna bet?" Octavia gave her a smug look.

Elena joined in on Octavia's taunting; they were in charge now. "Get back to work." She cocked her head towards the tunnel. Caris took their orders as light hearted jests and obliged with a playful roll of her eyes.

* * *

They had managed to tie some rope around a particularly large, heavy, stubborn piece of rubble and had employed several more grounders to help them pull on it.

"Don't give up." Atohl grunted. They had been pulling and pulling, but the rock would not budge.

"It's still not working!" A horn suddenly sounded out again, but it wasn't Lincoln's.

"Sky people!" A woman shouted, making the groups of seconds drop the rope and clamber up the side of the crater to look at what was going on.

"A group of them!" Another man yelled. Octavia and Elena smiled and went to greet them. Sinclair and Jackson were leading the group.

"We saw the missile, heard the blast, figured you could use some help." Sinclair grinned at the two girls.

Octavia nodded, returning his smile. "Just in time. Thank you."

"Jackson, Abby's trapped with someone else. I don't know what kind of injuries we're looking at, but please tell me you brought medical supplies." Elena asked, grabbing his arm lightly.

"Don't worry, we brought plenty." Jackson reassured her.

She nodded and smiled, relieved. "Great, thank you. Okay, we need everybody on that rope!" She shouted out to everyone, smiling when she saw everyone gather around it and pick it up. She and Octavia got back on it at the front and everyone tugged on it as hard as they could. The added men were a blessing as the rock was quickly pulled away, allowing them to reach Abby and the other person.

"We've got two survivors!" Octavia called out. They jumped down into the tunnel. "Abby," Octavia began to say, but was cut off by Elena gasping when she saw who the other person was and the shape they were in.

"Dad! Oh my god!" She ran over to them and crouched down by her father's head, placing her hand on his cheek. Her eyes began to water as she saw her dad give her a weak smile. "Dad, you're okay now." She looked up and grabbed Abby's hand with her free hand. "You both are." It was odd. The moment, though they were not in a very desirable situation, made her feel warm inside. It was the feeling you get when you see your family again after a long time apart, and she supposed in a way that is exactly what this was. It was like she had both of her parents back again. Then again, Abby had always been like a second mother to her, so it was really no surprise that Elena would feel like this after finding out that they were both safe. She snapped out of her thoughts when Atohl and some others came down with a stretcher for Marcus. She left her father in their capable hands and helped Abby out.

* * *

Once they had made it out of the tunnel, Abby hugged Elena tightly. "I'm glad you're okay." She whispered in the brunette's ear, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"Me?" Elena laughed incredulously. "I'm glad you're both okay!"

Abby pulled back and gave her a smile. "Well, what with that sniper, I was worried."

Elena nudged her slightly. "You were trapped under a pile of rubble!" It seemed as though there were hugs all around as Octavia went flying past them, into the arms of Lincoln.

She kissed him and then pulled back grinning. "You did it."

"I had a little help." Elena heard him reply before he turned around and looked up the side of the crater. Clarke and Lexa slowly approached them.

Elena gasped, tears filling her eyes once again, at the sight of her best friend. "Clarke!" She called out, running to the blonde, who ran down he side of the crate to meet her half way. They both collided with one another, each one wrapping the other up in a hug. "I was so worried about you!"

Clarke stiffened slightly. She felt awful about what she had done, but she couldn't bring herself to tell Elena. She didn't want Elena to hate her. Instead, she buried her face further into the brunette's shoulder. "I'm glad you're safe." She met her mother's eyes over Elena's shoulder, but her mother looked away from her, not being able to stand the sight of her. The girls pulled away and smiled at each other.

"Heda! Heda! Heda! Heda! Heda! Heda! Heda! Heda!" Everyone started cheering for Lexa.

Lexa stood tall and proud, preparing a speech in her mind. "What happened here will not stand. The mountain will fall. The dead will be avenged!" She declared, throwing an arm in the air. Everyone cheered even louder in agreement.

"Enough! That's enough." Abby screamed over the noise, which died down. "There are still others in the wreckage. We heard them. Go to work!" Everyone did as she said, wanting to save the others.

* * *

Octavia had grabbed Elena and pulled her over to Indra with Lincoln following behind them.

"You've done well, Elena and Octavia of the Sky People." Indra praised her two seconds with a nod of her head. "Today you saved lives. Tomorrow you'll take them." She actually smiled at them. "Now get my gear. We leave with the commander." The girls nodded and walked away to do as they were told.

Elena glanced back, worried that Indra might react to Lincoln badly and exhaust herself, after all, she was still injured. The chief of Tondc didn't do as expected, though, and instead brought Lincoln into a hug, making Elena smile warmly at the two. "O, look." She nudged Octavia's side and gestured towards the pair.

She grinned happily at the sight. Clarke came over to the girls, wanting to speak with Octavia. "I thought you were dead." Octavia admitted. "I'm glad you're not."

"You too." Clarke nodded. Octavia and Elena grabbed Indra's gear and took it back to her, helping the woman put it on.

"I strongly believe that you girls are ready for war." Indra declared. Her gaze was trained on the two, but this time it had a fondness about it. Elena couldn't be more proud of herself and Octavia; they had finally completely been accepted by Indra, but also by the other grounders. She could only hope that this would all go to plan.

* * *

**We are so near the end! A Bellena reunion will be coming up shortly, who's looking forward to that? Until next time~**


	29. Bodyguard of Lies

Elena was sat by one of the many fires, reliving the past 24 hours over in her mind. In those hours she had almost been hit by a missile, earned the respect of most of the grounders and almost lost her father. Now, they were on their way to finally save their people and bring this war to an end. It had been one hell of a journey - one that she'd be glad to see the back of - but at least everyone had mutual respect for each other now, it would definitely make things easier in the long run.

"Hey, you okay?" A voice asked her, snapping her out of her trance. A hand patted her shoulder before the person took a seat beside her.

Elena turned to face Clarke and smiled softly. "Yeah, I was just thinking about what a miracle it is that we're all still alive after that missile."

Clarke huffed a laugh, looking down at her hands which sat in her lap. "Yeah. I would have warned you before we left if I had time but-"

"Wait, what?" Elena cut her off. She was frowning at her friend, confused about what she meant. What did she mean by 'warned you'?

The blonde's body stiffened as she realised she had messed up. "I-I mean-" she stammered, trying to save herself. Elena was the last person she wanted to find out her secret.

"You and Lexa were in the middle of Tondc just before I left to stand guard. You never would've got away in time," Elena murmured, more to herself than Clarke, piecing everything together. Her breathing became increasingly heavier as she began to figure it out, "but you knew about the missile, didn't you? So you and Lexa ran because your lives matter and no one else's do." Her voice steadily becoming louder. Clarke's eyes scanned the area, making sure no one heard her and grabbed Elena's arm, dragging over to the side where no one would see or hear them. "Get off of me!" Elena yanks her arm out of Clarke's grip.

"Please, Elena, just listen to me-"

"You let all those people die, Clarke! You were gonna let my dad, Octavia, your mom, me die!"

Clarke shook her head frantically. "No, I did it to protect Bellamy! If everyone had escaped Tondc, the mountain men would have found Bellamy. He hasn't finished doing what needed to be done yet."

"Bellamy wouldn't have allowed this to happen, he would've figured out another way." Elena began walking off, not wanting to be near Clarke right now.

"Elena, wait," Clarke grabbed her arm again, "you can't tell anyone."

Elena whirled round. A loud smack resounded throughout the area. "You don't get to make requests like that anymore." She swallowed back the lump in her throat and walked away from Clarke, leaving the blonde clutching her reddening cheek. A cold, brown gaze was set on a certain commander's tent.

* * *

Marching up to the tent, she barely had time to stop before coming face to face with Lexa's bodyguards. "Lexa, let me in!" Elena shouted, knowing the commander would hear her and know exactly who it was and why they were here.

"Enter." The leader's voice spoke, muffled by the material of the tent. The guards lifted the opening of the tent and allowed Elena to past, following her inside. Lexa stood in the middle of the tent, shoulder's squared as she knew this would not be a pleasant visit. "Leave us." She relinquished her guards of their duty for now.

Elena walked forward, stopping right in front of Lexa. "I knew you were cold, but what you did was downright heartless."

"You know." Lexa observed, "how?"

"Clarke slipped up," Elena shrugged, not wanting to focus on that. "Do you not care for your people? How could you let something like this happen?"

Lexa kept up her pokerface, not letting any emotion shine through. "How could I not let it happen? If we would have evacuated everyone, they would've known about our inside man. Bellamy hasn't finished his job yet, we couldn't let him be found out."

Elena's brow furrowed. It was the same reasoning Clarke. She let out a humourless laugh, "of course. I should've known this was your idea."

"Clarke made her own decision."

She stepped forward, squaring up to Lexa. "Oh, don't worry, I'm not taking any of the responsibility away from Clarke - she also let this happen - but my guess is that she came in here wanting to save everyone and you convinced her otherwise."

"You should be happy, we did this to protect the man you love."

Elena scoffed, "'be happy'? About people dying when their deaths could have been prevented?" They were both silent for a minute, both glaring at each other in the hopes that one would back down. "Tell me, how do you live with yourself, Lexa?"

Ignoring the girl's question, Lexa chose to ensure that the secret would be kept. "You need to keep quiet about this." Elena shook her head and gave a short, incredulous laugh. "I chose to make you a second because I saw part of myself in you, Elena. That is why I know that you won't tell anyone about this."

* * *

"Do not compare me to you, Lexa, because we are _nothing_ alike." Elena spat, turning on her heel. She had reached the entrance of the tent when Lexa spoke again.

"Aren't we? I've over seen you're training, you're more like me and my people than you let on. You'll soon learn to make decisions with your head and not your heart, starting with the decision to keep quiet about this."

Elena didn't turn around to catch the smug look on Lexa's face. "You sound so sure of yourself."

Lexa smirked, knowing she had won this argument. "I am. You need this alliance to save your friends and you'll lose it if you breathe a word about this to anyone." When Elena said nothing, opting to grit her teeth and bite her tongue, Lexa continued. "You're lucky that I'm giving you the choice to make the right decision, especially when it would be easy to make sure you don't talk to anyone."

"Did you just threaten me?" Elena asked, turning to face Lexa, not believing what she just heard.

"I respect you, Elena. Don't make me regret that."

* * *

"Do you want to explain why you're leader just asked me why I wasn't on watch and where Octavia is?" Indra inquired as soon as Elena reached her. She had taken a walk to clear her head before deciding she should go back and explain why she wasn't out scouting with Lincoln and Octavia.

"She's not my leader." Elena snapped, earning herself a warning glare. She sighed and threw her head back. "Sorry, I'm just not in the best place with Clarke right now. Anyway, isn't Octavia on the scouting mission with Lincoln?"

"Yes," Indra answered, but Elena's question reminded her that Elena herself shouldn't be standing in front of her right now, "which is where you're supposed to be. I hope you have a good reason for disobeying orders."

"I was speaking with the commander about…something." Elena knew she couldn't speak about what she knew with anyone. She hated it, but Lexa was right. She needed this alliance.

"You are angry with your friend and the commander."

"Can we not-"

"Because they knew about the missile." Indra continued in a hushed tone.

Elena's eyes widened as she leaned towards the woman, speaking just as quietly. "You know?" Indra gave a nod. "How are you not furious? You almost died because of that missile. They could have prevented it."

"You wrongly direct your anger, young warrior. It is the enemy that has done wrong, not your friend and the commander."

The brunette looked down and shook her head sadly. "Yeah, well, I can't really see it like that."

"It is better for everyone if you keep quiet and use your anger to fuel your fire towards the enemy." Indra placed her hand on Elena's shoulder. "I have things I must attend to, but Octavia has just arrived. Find out how her mission went." She walked off, leaving Elena to think about Indra's take on the situation.

* * *

Octavia did not look pleased when Elena approached her. "What's wrong? Did you guys find something?" Elena asked, her mind immediately listing through all the possible bad things that they could have found on the mission.

"I didn't go on the mission. Lexa put me on watch." Octavia grumbled, crossing her arms across her chest. "Plus Indra never told joined me like Lexa said she would."

Elena frowned when she heard that. "Indra thought you were on the scouting mission with Lincoln. Like you were supposed to be."

She shrugged. "Whatever. Look, Lena, I have to talk to you about something and I know you're not going to take it well." Octavia started, trying to figure out the best way to handle such a delicate situation. She had debated whether to tell Elena or not, but decided that she couldn't not tell Elena because 1) she has the right to know and 2) she tells Elena_ everything._

Of course, Elena already knew what was coming and was trying to figure out how Octavia knew. For a secret that no one was supposed to know, there sure were a lot of people who knew. "Don't bother, I already know what you're about to say, but how did you know?"

Octavia raised her eyebrows, surprised that Elena knew already before explaining. "Clarke was freaked out when she came to Tondc and then she and Lexa just disappeared and happened to make it out unscathed even though they were in the middle of the village? It wasn't hard to piece together. How do you know?"

"Clarke messed up, said she would have warned me if she had time. Did Lexa happen to show up while you were talking to Clarke about what happened?"

"Yeah, but that's not important right now." Placing her hands on Elena's shoulders, Octavia gave her best friend a worried look. "Are you okay?"

Elena gritted her teeth. Lexa threatened to kill her if she told anyone and she'd bet anything that Lexa set something similar up for Octavia. After all, she sent Octavia to watch the area, said that Indra would join her and then Indra doesn't show up? Indra didn't even know Octavia was on watch. Elena swore right then and there that if anything happened to Octavia because of Lexa, there would be hell to pay. She would tell everyone about the missile. However, since Octavia was standing with her right now, she could assume that Clarke stopped whatever Lexa was planning. Returning back to reality, Elena shrugged, smiling weakly at the girl in front of her, "I slapped her."

Octavia nodded, "she deserved it."

Running a hand through her hair, Elena huffed slightly. "I'm not sure what to think anymore. I just want this war to be over already. I want our friends to be safe." Cheers sounded out all around them as people began pointing to the sky. A signal flare flew through the air and the girls both turned to grin at each other.

"Looks like your wish just came to." Octavia said breathlessly.

"I knew he could do it." Elena beamed, looking back at the signal flare.

"Heda!" People started shouting. The two brunettes turned to see Clarke and Lexa stood on the hill, looking out at their army.

"Teik em laud tromon-de." Lexa said to the grounders beside her, who blew their horns to capture everyone's attention and signal the start of war. "Kom wor!"

* * *

They were all heading out, trekking through the forest to Mount Weather. Octavia and Elena walked side by side in silence, both anticipating what was about to happen.

Clarke approached the two, falling into step with them by Elena's side. "Hey."

Elena didn't look at her as she replied, "what?"

"Have I lost you forever?" Clarke couldn't stop the words from falling from her lips. She had to know, Elena was her best friend. Always has been, hopefully always will be.

"I don't know, Clarke, but I can't focus on that right now and neither can you." Her answer was blunt and to the point.

Clarke nodded slowly, hurt by her answer. "Okay, well, I'm changing your mission. You're not going to the mines with Indra. I'm placing you both in the rear guard, where you'll be safe."

"Like that's going to happen."

"Like hell you are." The girls replied in sync. Octavia continued, however, with "We don't take orders from you. We take orders from Indra."

"I'm trying to protect you guys, Octavia." Clarke argued, trying to make them see why they should do as she says.

Elena scoffed at the blonde. "Protect us? It's a bit late for that, Clarke."

"One day, hopefully, you'll understand what I did."

Octavia was the one who spoke this time. "Never. I'll fight this war with you now because I want our friends back. But after that, we're done." Octavia knew she could only speak for herself on this one, Elena needed to make her own choice.

Elena could feel Clarke's eyes on her as she finally responded, "I'm going to the mines. Just try and stop me." She challenged Clarke, finally looking up to meet her gaze.

The commander's looking for you." Indra came up behind them, interrupting the conversation. When Clarke left, she turned to the girls. "What was that about?"

"Clarke's trying to reassign us to the rear guard." Octavia informed her.

"You're warriors. You'll be in the mines with me." Indra stated. She leaned towards Octavia. "I know what bothers you. They know about the missile." Elena sighed, knowing that they were about to have the same conversation as she and Indra had before.

"How could you not hate them? Indra, they almost killed you." Octavia argued the same point as Elena.

"They didn't do anything. The enemy did. Lexa's a great commander because she's ruthless. That's why we'll win this battle."

"That's wrong."

"That's war." Indra ended the conversation, shouting with the other grounders and raising her sword in the air.

Octavia looked at Elena, "if you can't beat them, join them, right?" And who was Elena to argue with that? With that, the girls raised their swords above their heads and let out loud battle cries with everyone else. Mount Weather was going down.

* * *

**Only two more chapters left until the end and we have to wait until next year! Who's excited to read the season finale though? Hope you've enjoyed this chapter, until next time~**


	30. Blood Must Have Blood (Part 1)

**First part of the finale, we're almost at the end :O Hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

The time had come to finalise the plan to take over Mount Weather. Lexa had called for the meeting, asking the sky people who were helping with the plan to join them. Elena and Octavia were not apart of that group, however, as their team had already started their trek to the mines, where they would neutralise the reapers and tie them up, ready to bring them back. Naturally, Indra was leading the group, but she was allowing Octavia and Elena to figure out the map and take charge of the directions. It was a tense time, but both girls were ready to finally save their people and be reunited with Bellamy. They ended up at the entrance of the mines, pausing to scope out the area. Most of the team peered into the dully lit tunnel, weary of what was waiting for them at the end of it.

Elena looked at Indra and shrugged, a sign that she wasn't put off by what they were about to face. "Let's do this." She was ready to end this; ready to finally see her friends again; ready to see Bellamy again. Indra gave a smirk of approval and stepped over the threshold of the tunnel.

* * *

They walked through the mines, following Lincoln's map closely. No matter where they went and where they looked, everything looked the same. So much so, that everyone was quickly growing tired of seeing the same set up constantly and were getting impatient.

"According to Lincoln's map, we're getting close." Octavia informed everyone, sounding very weary. "It's a maze. Lincoln should be here to show us the way."

"He wasn't ready," Indra replied instantly, "even he knew that. He'll do well fighting with the commander."

"After all he's been through, this place haunts him, O." Elena explained softly, lightly grasping Octavia's arm. "We have to respect his choice."

Nodding at Elena, Octavia sighed and turned to Indra. "It meant a lot that you forgave him."

Indra was a stubborn woman, as everyone knew, and refused to openly acknowledge that she had a heart and feelings. It was something that amused Elena to no end, because she could tell that Indra cared about Lincoln, seemingly as if he were her son, but she was so hard headed that she would never admit it. Indra stared straight ahead, trying to brush it off. "He earned that. I have known Lincoln since he was a boy. He always questioned our ways, but if he ever chooses sides against the clan again, not even his bravery can save him." A loud bang came from ahead of them, which made one of the guards start shooting instinctively.

"Stop shooting!" Octavia screamed angrily.

Indra smacked the guard who was shooting on the arm, getting him to stop and look at her. "The reapers are not the enemy!" It was silent for a moment. Everyone looked down the tunnel, trying to make out any figures that may be approaching them, but there were none. Yet.

Octavia stepped forward, looking at everyone in the group. "We don't kill them unless we…" Multiple battle cries cut her off and reapers began surrounding them.

"Jackson, now!" Elena called out, dodging out of the way of a reaper who lunged at her.

Jackson pulled out the tone generator and turned it on. It played a high-pitched tone, which affected the reapers, sending them all to the ground. "Tranquilise them," he instructed as everyone ran to a reaper to them with something that will keep them down, "go for the jugular!"

"Secure their hands and feet." Octavia added. It didn't take long for them all to be completely unconscious and tied up.

"Well done. They'll be out for a while." Jackson congratulated everyone on the small victory. "We'll come back for them." They started to move out, but one of the reapers made Indra stop in her tracks.

Octavia and Elena noticed this and approached her. "You know him?" Octavia asked quietly. Indra didn't reply.

Elena cautiously placed a hand on Indra's shoulder, fully expecting the woman to jerk back from it as if she had been burned. "It's okay, he'll be fine now. We'll be back for him soon and Abby will save him."

Much to Elena's surprised, Indra merely nodded at Elena and then withdrew her sword, staring down the tunnel. "Let's go. We have to find that door."

* * *

Octavia leaned closer to Elena as they made their way through the tunnels. The negative, doubtful thoughts were beginning to plague her mind. Keeping her voice low, she asked, "you think we'll get there in time?"

Elena glanced at Octavia from the corner of her eye. She knew what kind of things Octavia was thinking of, she had been thinking the same thing. She had been through pretty much all of the bad thoughts, until she thought what good would doubting themselves and the plan do now? If they began to doubt themselves and get distracted, they could be too late and they wouldn't save the people who could have been saved. "Clear your head, O. I know it's hard, virtually impossible, but you have to. If we let ourselves be distracted now, things could go wrong and those who we want to save may pay the cost. We have to do everything in our power to try to help, so just keep focused on the plan, okay?"

It made sense, Octavia knew that. She also knew that Elena was as worried as her - worried about their friends and Bellamy - they were going through the same thing. "Okay. You're right, we just have to focus." Octavia murmured to herself, trying to push the bad thoughts away. The lights in the tunnel suddenly went off, making everyone jump slightly.

"Raven did it," Elena muttered, smiling. They all turned their flashlights on. "Now we really have to find that door." Everyone made a sound of agreement and started moving once again.

* * *

Finally, the reached the tunnel came to an end and the door was in sight.

"We found it!" Octavia exclaimed breathlessly.

"You found." Indra corrected, "looks like we didn't ned Lincoln after all."

"Thank you." Octavia said appreciatively while Elena nodded her thanks.

"You have both done well, Elena and Octavia…" Indra paused, before adding "know Trigedakru."

"What's that mean?" Elena asked, knowing full well what it meant.

"What you think it means."

Octavia stepped forward. "I think I want to hear you say it."

"It means you're both one of us now." Indra finally said, gaging their reactions. Octavia smiled and nodded, but Elena had mixed feelings. It was never her intention to become a grounder, but somehow it had happened. Deciding to take it in her stride, she accepted her fate and smiled like Octavia did. Indra approached the door, but the sound of horns stopped her. It was the signal to retreat. Indra frowned, confused, and turned to the rest of the group. "We're retreating.

Elena shook her head, "no, no, that can't be right. The plan hasn't been completed yet."

Indra ignored her. "We have to go. Now!" She put her sword away and started moving back.

Octavia ran forward and grabbed her arm. "Indra, wait! They're still in there."

"And our commander's out there, under attack for all we know."

"I don't trust her, not after Tondc, and neither should you."

Indra gritted her teeth, angry that her second was disobeying her orders. "I gave you a direct order."

"Please," Octavia pressed on, pleading for Indra to change her mind. "This was the plan. If we're not here with the tone generators when they come out, the reapers will kill…"

"Plans change." Indra snapped, cutting her off.

"Octavia's right, Indra!" Elena argued, not wanting to leave her friends behind. "We have Mount Weather exactly where we want them, they have no way of defeating us now. That retreat is being sounded because Lexa is a poor excuse of a commander."

In a flash, Indra had her sword position against Elena's neck, pressing down hard enough to draw blood. "Be careful with your words, Sky Child." Ignoring the obvious statement that she was no longer considered a grounder (that lasted long…), Elena payed no mind to her threats and continued arguing her case. "We haven't saved our people yet, and Lexa was so eager to take out the enemy, so why else would she sound the retreat? You know exactly what she's done, Indra. A good leader sticks to her word, unlike Lexa, so why are you following her?" The village chief said nothing in response. The rest of the group was extremely confused by the conversation, they had no idea what Elena was talking about.

"Elena, Octavia, let's go." Caris attempted to make the girls move. She had actually grown to like them.

Octavia shook her head profusely. "I'm not going anywhere without my brother."

All eyes turned to Elena. "I'm not leaving without him - or any of my people for that matter - either and there's no way in hell I'd ever leave Octavia behind."

Indra snatched her sword away from Elena, slicing her skin slightly, "You are no longer my seconds." She hissed before turning away from them, ready to leave.

"Indra." Elena stared blankly ahead, not caring about the wound she had just received. She didn't even bother facing the woman when she called out her name. Indra was right: plans change. Elena's guess was that Lexa made a choice; one that would save her people and only her people. Mount Weather knew they had no chance of winning, so they used their last resort. Making a deal with he enemy. "Tell your commander that we're nothing alike. I would never betray those who trusted me." She relayed her message bitterly. Indra said nothing as she walked away, leading her team back to the commander.

"Girls, please. Come home with us." Jackson begged them, holding onto to Octavia's arm so that should would look at him, but she didn't.

"Bellamy and Elena are my home and part of it is in there." Octavia replied.

Jackson turned his pleading face to Elena, hoping the older girl would see sense and convince Octavia to leave. Much to his dismay, she shook her head firmly. "We've made our choice. If you're going to leave, you should go now."

Accepting that they weren't leaving, Jackson backed off, removing his back pack and leaving it on the floor. "You'll need this. C'mon." He ushered the guards, who had stayed behind, loyal to the sky people and not the grounders, away from the door and the girls.

Octavia looked to Elena for a plan, a worried expression painted all over her face. "How do we save our people without them?"

Elena swallowed nervously. Honestly, she had no idea how to answer that, but she knew she couldn't just give up - not when they were so close to saving their friends. So she wiped any hint of fear and doubt off of her face, straightened herself up, put on the most determined face she could muster up and faced Octavia. "We'll do whatever it takes. Just like we always do."

* * *

**Are you excited for the last chapter? Let me know :)**


	31. Blood Must Have Blood (Part 2)

**It's the finale, everyone! Prepare for drama and sadness :'(**

* * *

Elena and Octavia were sat up against the metal container, waiting for the chute to be opened. They figured it was the only way in without someone letting them in from the inside. Elena's fingers drummed her thigh faster and faster as her patience wore thinned and thinner.

"What's taking so long?" Octavia complained, voicing Elena's exact thoughts, growing more and more anxious. A humming sound bounced off the walls of the tunnel, alerting the girls of their chance to get inside. "It's about time," she muttered, standing up along with Elena. They could hear something falling down the chute, landing with a large bang. It was a body. "Fox." The girls shook slightly, staring at the body with pale faces. Their heads snapped to the side when they heard footsteps quickly approaching them, bracing themselves for a combat situation.

Octavia ran forward, holding her sword up ready to strike whoever it was, but a flash of blonde caught Elena's eye, making her cry out "stop!"

They both halted their movements, coming face to face with each other. Clarke's eyes darted from Octavia to Elena, who walked over to the pair, with a look of relied in her eyes. "Elena, Octavia, you stayed."

Octavia's lips were drawn back in a snarl, "screw you! Of course we stayed. We know where our loyalties lie."

Elena sighed, understanding how angry Octavia was, but arguing with Clarke wouldn't help them save their friends. "Octavia," she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, shaking her head when Octavia looked at her.

Clarke marched past them, "we have to get in there."

Grabbing her arm, Octavia made Clarke look at Fox's body. "If that was possible, do you think I'd still be out here? Why did Lexa sound the retreat?"

"She made a deal, didn't she?" Elena gritted her teeth at the thought of Lexa's betrayal. "One that didn't include our people."

Clarke nodded slowly. "We're on own."

Elena groaned and ran a hand through her hair. "Should never have trusted her."

"Tell me about it." Octavia replied bitterly. Clarke ignored the two and stormed over to the door banging her fists against it. Octavia grabbed her and pulled her away from the door. "Stop!" She looked at her incredulously, "they'll know we're here."

Elena frowned. She had never seen Clarke act so recklessly. The blonde was shaking her head furiously and Elena could tell she was almost crying. Elena took Clarke's face in her hands, forcing her to face her, "Clarke, hey, look at me." Clarke's lips trembled, "we'll figure something out." Elena spoke softly, trying to soothe the blonde's franticness, though she wasn't sure she believed her own words.

Octavia watched on as Elena comforted Clarke, but she couldn't understand how Elena could bring herself to act so lovingly. Clarke was going to let them both die. She betrayed their trust. She licked her lips and crossed her arms, just remembering that Lincoln had been with Clarke. "What about Lincoln? There's no way he would have gone along with a plan like this." She asked once Clarke was calm.

Clarke pulled away from Elena and stood opposite the door, aiming her gun at it. "He didn't, they took him."

"What's wrong with you?" Octavia shrieked, smacking Clarke's gun down.

"I am getting through that door."

"And that's your plan? Bellamy's counting on you. Everyone's always counting on you."

Clarke's breathing got heavier as she began to feel the pressure all over again. Octavia was right, everyone was counting on her, but what was she supposed to do? "Well, what do you want from me?

"You trusted Lexa. You let a bomb drop on Tondc," Octavia stepped closer to Clarke with every sentence, "you let all those people-"

"I am doing the best I can!" Clarke shouted back.

"Yeah? Well, it's not good enough."

Elena cut into their conversation, standing between them, "Okay, that's enough!" She snapped just as the door beeped and opened. Out stepped Bellamy, holding his gun up, staring at the three girls who were staring back at him. Elena felt her throat close up as tears filled her eyes, she was so unbelievably happy to see him alive and well, but she found that she couldn't move; she was rooted in place.

Octavia was the first to react, launching herself at her brother, breathing out a quiet "Bellamy," which sounded more like a thank you to god.

Elena observed his attire, noting the beige pants he wore with the white shirt and the vest over the top. He looked odd and out-of-place in the uniform, but then again she had grown so accustomed to his blue jacket and shirt, that he'd look that way if he wore anything else. That and he _was _out-of-place here. She was snapped out of her reverie by two figures lunging at her, calling out her name happily. Two pairs of arms wrapped around her tightly, and two faces were buried in her hair. Unshed tears eventually fell when she closed her eyes, relishing in the warmth that the boys brought. She swallowed back the lump in her throat and let out a shaky laugh, wrapping her arms around the two boys. "Monty, Jasper, I'm so glad you're okay." When she opened her eyes, they immediately locked with a pair of deep brown eyes that took her breath away. He seemed to be taking her image in, much like she had done with him, and silently wondered if he would think the same about her. She looked like a grounder, and from the surprised look in his eyes, she knew that he was definitely not expecting her to look the way she did. Elena felt the boys pull back, making their way to Octavia, who was grinning at them, making a joke about how they were 'too scrawny to drill'.

Bellamy walked over to her, stopping just inches away from her. He smirked down at her fleetingly, "I told you I'd come back to you."

Elena shook her head and looked up at him with tearful eyes and a weak smile. "Think you'll find I came to you instead." She commented with a light shrug.

"Whatever, grounder girl." He muttered, leaning down towards her. She frowned at the name, for once preferring and wanting to hear 'princess', but before she could say anything about it, Bellamy took her face in his hands and captured her lips in a fiery, passionate, yet warming and comforting kiss. Elena brought her hands up to wrap them around his wrists, standing on the tips of her toes so she could kiss back just as hard. They pulled away, not willingly but they had more important things to do, leaning their foreheads against one another while they caught their breath. From the corner of her eye, Elena noticed a figure in a blue hazard suit approaching them and fully turned her head to the side to properly evaluate the situation. It was a girl, about her age, and she looked slightly scared when she saw Octavia. Elena saw Jasper take the girl's hand and frowned before realising the girl must have been Maya. "She's with us," Bellamy murmured, lips brushing against her cheek He removed his wrists from Elena's grip and settled his hands on her hips. Looking at Clarke, he asked "where's your army?"

Clarke sighed, swallowing nervously. "Gone, just like yours. Say you have a plan." She pleaded, desperately wanting to hear the words.

"Not really. We need to talk to Dante. Maya says he's in quarantine."

"Clarke!" Jasper cheered, rushing over to hug her with Monty following. Honestly, Clarke was grateful that someone was happy to see her. She mouthed a quick 'thank you' to Maya, who nodded in reply, but was distracted by the beeping of her oxygen tank which alerted her that it was running low.

Jasper rushed back over to her and checked her tank. "30 minutes and we just changed it. That can't be right," he stammered, looking to Bellamy for help. "It's her last tank."

Clarke walked forward, "okay, we'll find you another one."

Maya shook her head. "All the supplemental oxygen is on level 5."

"Then we have to get you to level 5." Jasper stated, not wanting to lose her.

"5 isn't safe for any of us."

"We'll take the trash chute again. It will work." He argued.

"To get in, maybe." Bellamy spoke up. "Maya's right. Every solider in this mountain is there. We'll never make it out."

Elena frowned when she heard that. She knew how much Maya had helped them, she didn't want any harm to come to the girl. "There has to be some way we can help her."

Jasper nodded eagerly at Elena, relieved someone else was thinking positive. "We can do this. We'll split up."

Octavia agreed, forming a plan in her mind. "Okay, you guys," she sent pointed looks to Elena, Bellamy, Monty and Clarke, "go for Dante. We'll help Maya." She walked off, withdrawing her sword, before anyone could argue.

Elena smiled briefly at Bellamy, taking out her own sword, noticing how he eyed it skeptically. "I wasn't ready to leave you again anyway."

He nodded, leaning over to kiss the top of her head as they followed after the others. "Good."

* * *

Bellamy led them to quarantine, where Dante was being held. They entered the room silently. It's walls were a pristine white but were covered in a dozen paintings, which Elena mentally noted how, on any other occasion, Clarke would be darting from wall to wall to observe the paintings and attempt to recreate or draw inspiration from them.

In the centre of the room stood a man, who looked to be in his 60s. He turned to face them with a stern expression, focusing mainly on Clarke."Hello, Clarke." His eyes moved to Elena, whose hand tightened around the handle of her sword from the nerves she felt at that moment. "You're a new face."

"Sir, we need your help again." Bellamy said, taking the attention off of his girlfriend, something she was grateful for. The man merely stared at Bellamy.

"It's okay. I took out the camera from the junction box in the hall. We can talk freely." Monty reassured him.

"No one's watching, anyway. Thanks to you, they're all on level 5." Dante replied.

Clarke finally decided to speak up. "You're not."

"No, I'm not."

"Please." Bellamy cut in, wanting an answer to their problems. "We don't have much time. We need a way to get our people out of this mountain without killing everyone."

Clarke shook her head. "He's not gonna help us."

Dante gritted his teeth angrily. "You cut the power, risking the lives of everyone in this mountain - my people - even the ones who helped you."

Clarke marched forward, squaring up to him. "We knew they'd be safe on level 5. We made sure not to destroy the turbines so you could repair them. We're the good guys here, not you." She shouted.

"Tell me, if we released your people and theirs, what would've happened to mine?"

Clarke didn't answer that. They both knew the answer already. Instead, she turned to Monty. "Can you get us into the command centre? We need to see what's happening on level 5."

Monty nodded, it would be no problem for him. "No problem."

"Let's go." Bellamy walked towards Dante, grabbing the older man's arm and pulling him along. "You're gonna help us, whether you like it or not."

* * *

Clarke and Elena went first, both holding up their weapons just incase any guards jumped out at them.

"I told you, there's no one here." Dante repeated himself yet again.

"Sorry if we don't take your word for it." Bellamy answered bitterly, keeping an eye on Elena, who was just in front of him.

"Just who are you? A grounder who stayed behind?" Dante asked Elena, ignoring the glares he got from both Clarke and Bellamy, though the latter did have the same question running through his mind; 'who is that?'. Bellamy hadn't been gone long, but it was clear that Elena had changed a lot. She wasn't exactly a grounder, but she certainly wasn't the girl he knew back on the Ark, or even when they first arrived on the ground. Elena was stronger now, and more sure of herself; confident, like she could make the harder choices in life and follow through with them just as a good leader would. It was impressive.

Elena glanced at Dante from the corner of her eye. "No. I'm from the Ark. I just did what I had to do in order to save my people."

"Why aren't you with your people on level 5?" Clarke inquired.

"After what I've done, they can be free. I can't." He replied as they came to a stop outside of the command centre. "Deliverance comes at a cost. I bear it so they don't have to."

"Wait," Elena frowned, going over the conversation in her head. "How did you know about the grounders leaving if you've been locked up all this time?" She nodded to herself as she came to a realisation. "Because it wasn't your son's idea, it was yours. You were the one who told Cage to make the deal with the grounders." Bellamy's jaw clenched angrily as he realised Elena was right.

"We're in. I got it." Monty announced, opening the door for them.

Bellamy went in first, aiming his gun as he scanned the room for any stray guards. "It's clear. He's telling the truth."

Clarke ushered Monty in, following behind him, leaving Elena to close the door behind them. "Okay. Let's get the monitors up." Monty nodded and got to work doing what he does best.

* * *

It didn't take long, Monty was a genius, after all. "I think main centre's live." Light flooded the room as the monitors came to life, showing everything that was happening in different areas of the mountain.

"Oh my god." Clarke said breathlessly. One of the monitors showed the room where the bone marrow extraction was taking place. Someone was strapped down onto an operating table. 2 people surrounded the person, one holding a drill. They all felt sick to their stomachs when they recognised the person on the table.

"Raven?" Elena whispered, face pale and horror-stricken. Several other monitors showed the same room, only they were pointed at the people who were all handcuffed around the edge of the room. Their eyes all followed the row of people - their people - until Elena and Clarke both gasped, eyes widened. "Dad?"

"Mom?" Their parents were handcuffed to the wall as well.

Elena turned her head, meeting Clarke's eyes. "They went to Tondc to capture our people."

Bellamy's anger was rapidly growing. He yanked a radio from it's place on the table and held it out to Dante, demanding, "tell them to stop now!"

Dante denied his request. "I won't do that."

"Emerson." Clarke snarled at one of the screens, keeping her eye on a particular guard. She grabbed the radio from Bellamy and turned it on. "Carl Emerson, Mount Weather security detail, come in."

"Who is this?" The guard replied.

"You know who it is. Give the radio to the president."

Bellamy watched the screen. "They're moving."

"Not a problem. I'll bring it on main monitor." Monty began typing something that no else could figure out. He brought the camera footage they wanted up onto the screen.

Cage lifted the radio to his lips. "This is President Wallace."

"I have your father. If you don't let my people go, I'll kill him." Clarke told him, keeping her eyes on Cage's figure.

"How do I know you have him?"

She thrust the radio in front of Dante, willing him to speak. "Stay the course, Cage."

Cage's eyes widened as he began to panic. "You won't do it."

"You don't know me very well." Clarke turned away from the screen, pacing forwards. "This ends now. Release my people."

"I can't do that."

"It would mean the end of our people, Clarke." Dante added. She turned around, holding her gun up to him.

Bellamy backed away from Dante, out of range of Clarke's gun. "Clarke, we need him."

"And I need his son to believe me." Clarke held the radio back up to her lips. "Don't make me do this." Elena saw the way Clarke's hand shook as she pointed the gun at Dante and made a split second choice. Clarke had been through too much already and no matter what she had done, Elena wouldn't let her go through with this if she didn't have to.

Cage was silent for a moment, obviously making up his mind. "Dad...I'll take care of our people."

Dante looked scared. "None of us has a choice here, Clarke."

Clarke shook her head, holding back tears. "I didn't want this."

"Neither did I." Dante stated. Clarke's finger went to pull the trigger, but before she had chance to a blade pierced Dante's heart, killing him instantly. Monty, Bellamy and Clarke jumped out of shock. The sword was pulled back and Dante fell to the ground, dead, revealing Elena standing behind him, blood covered sword in hand, with a look of remorse and guilt written all over her face. Clarke had to blink several times to figure out if she had just seen that correctly. She soon recovered from her shock and stared at Elena questioningly.

"You've already done enough." Elena answered her questioning gaze quietly.

Clarke mustered up her most thankful look, grateful for the sacrifice Elena made for her. Getting back to the task at hand, she refocused herself and spoke to Cage on the radio. "Listen to me very carefully. I will not stop until my people are free. If you don't let them go...I will irradiate level 5." Cage was silent. "Cage, listen to me. I don't want anyone else to die. Stop the drilling, and we can talk." She offered, "there must be a way to get us all out of this." They all watched the monitor as Cage leaned against a wall, seemingly trying to hold himself up. He said something to Emerson, who left shortly after in a hurry.

"Emerson is coming for us." Clarke informed the others, watching Emerson disappear off of the screen.

"They deactivated my key card. Can you do that to his?" Bellamy asked Monty, who was quick to reply.

"That one's easy."

Returning his gaze to the screen, Bellamy frowned when he saw Cage stagger through the crowd and out of the room. "Where's he going?" They all watched Cage approach the door to another room, which Clarke and Bellamy recognised as the dorm room.

"The dorm." Clarke answered aloud. They all began to panic. Their friends and family were being held there, ready to be sacrificed. "Monty, can you do it? Can you irradiate the level?"

"I can do it."

"Wait a second, Clarke." Bellamy didn't want this. There were innocent people in the mountain who had nothing to do with any of it. He couldn't just let Clarke kill all of them without really thinking about it. "We need to think about this. There are kids in there-"

"I know." She responded.

"And people who helped us."

"Then please give me a better idea." Of course he had none.

"Bell," Elena spoke softly, catching his attention. "Cage won't listen to reason. It's a case of them or us, now." She let her eyes drift over to the monitors that showed the dorm room and noticed a guard lifting Raven off of the table while more guards unchained someone, who fought against them as best they could. She took a couple of steps towards the screens to get a better look. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw who it was, "Clarke, it's your mom."

Clarke shook her head furiously. "What have I done?" Elena and Clarke stared at the screen, completely horrified, as they began to drill into Abby's skin.

"If we do this, there is no going back." Bellamy warned them.

Clarke's eyes wandered to Elena's, who silently nodded, showing her agreement. "Figure it out." She told Monty.

"No." Bellamy muttered, glaring at one of the screens. Clarke and Elena turned to him, confused, and then looked at what had caught his attention. Two teenagers were running down the hallway looking terrified. Octavia followed after them with Maya close behind.

Elena felt Bellamy tense up at the sight. "She's got this." Elena assured him, knowing Octavia was more than capable of dealing with the two guards. Bellamy raised a brow questioningly at Elena, who cocked her head towards the screen just in time for him to see Octavia throw her blade at one of the guards who had been alerted of her presence, killing him instantly. She skidded across the floor, kicking the other guard in the shin, causing him to fall to the floor, yanked her sword out of the other guard and slashed it across the second guards chest, killing him as well. Unfortunately, the teens had made it back to everyone else, letting the other guards know about Octavia and Maya.

"They've got to get out of there." Bellamy stated. A loud bang made them look towards the door. Emerson was here.

Clarke looked at the others. "He's here." They watched the screen showing Emerson trying to kick the door down.

Monty looked scared, but not of Emerson, rather at the dorm room monitor. "Jasper. They caught him." Jasper was handcuffed, being led inside the room by a guard. Panic began to rise within all of them as they noticed Octavia and Maya surrounded by guards, threatening them to surrender. The sound of Monty's rapid typing ceased and Clarke's glare snapped to him.

"Why are you stopping?"

"Because I did it. All we have to do is pull this," he gestured to a lever. "Hatches and vents will open, and the scrubbers reverse, pulling in outside air."

Bellamy noticed Emerson getting ready to blow the door. "He's gonna blow the door." He got his gun ready. Elena held her sword up towards the door.

"Clarke, we're out of time." Monty exclaimed. Back on the monitors, Jasper was now chained up, Abby was still on the operating table and Octavia and Maya were being forced to the ground.

"My sister. My responsibility." Bellamy whispered.

Clarke was breathing heavily, feeling suffocated as she stared at the screens. "I have to save them." She rested her hand on the lever. Looking at Bellamy as he rested his hand on top of hers.

"Together." Clarke nodded in agreement. Bellamy place his gun on the table, grabbing hold of Elena's hand with his own, squeezing it tightly. She looked at the two and nodded, signalling them to pull the lever. They did so, looking to Monty to see if it had worked. He merely nodded. Burns appeared on the skin of the mountain people as they all began dropping to the floor, choking and gasping for air. Elena's eyes were drawn to the screen that showed Jasper holding Maya in his arms as she died, bringing tears to her eyes.

"Let's go get our people." Clarke said with her own tearful eyes.

* * *

They walked to the dining room where all the people of Mount Weather had been, taking in the dreadful sight.

As the turned the corner, they found Jasper still on the floor with Maya in his arms. He glared up at them through his tears. "What did you do?"

"We had no choice." Clarke replied weakly. Seeing Maya made her feel impossibly guilty. Her heart felt heavy, but she did what she had to.

"I was gonna kill Cage. If you'd just given me one more minute, it would've been over."

"Jasper…" Elena whispered, not knowing what she could say that would possibly make him understand right now.

Bellamy placed a hand on her shoulder, taking over for her. "Jasper, they never would've stopped."

When Jasper didn't reply, Clarke spoke up. "We have to go to the dorm."

* * *

They reached the dorm where everyone had eventually been freed from their chains.

"Mom." Clarke gasped, running over to her mother.

Elena saw Abby and Clarke, Monty and Harper and Miller and his dad hug, all relieved that it was finally over. "This is why we had to do it." She didn't need to look at Bellamy to know that he was nodding in agreement. Her dad appeared in front of them, making her let out a relieved sigh as she threw her arms around him. "Dad, you're okay!"

"I'm fine, Kiddo. It's good to see you're safe as well." He kissed the top of her head before pulling away and nodding at Bellamy. "You too, son. You did good." He clapped Bellamy on the shoulder. "Now let's get these people home."

"Yes, Sir." Bellamy obliged.

Elena hastily wiped her tears away, wanting nothing more than to get these people out of here. But before she did that, she couldn't help but wrap her arms around Bellamy again. It was finally over. She felt his arms wind themselves around her waist, pressing her flush against him. She kissed his cheek before resting her chin on his shoulder. "I love you."

She felt his lips brush against her ear, as he whispered, "I love you, too." Admittedly, Elena and Bellamy had completely forgotten that Marcus was standing there, watching the loving exchange, but it didn't matter. He was just happy that his daughter had found someone she could be truly happy with.

The moment was kind of ruined, however, when Octavia came maniacally dashing towards them. Bellamy and Elena pulled back enough to look at Octavia, who was looking at them and Marcus nervously. "Where's Cage?"

* * *

The sky people were finally returning to Camp Jaha; they were going home. Wick carried Raven back and Lincoln had appeared and was now walking side by side with Octavia. It turned out that he had dealt with Cage. Marcus and Clarke were walking either side of Abby, who was being carried on a stretcher, up front and those in need of help were being helped by others. Jasper chose to walk on his own, avoiding any conversation with anyone and everyone, while Monty walked with Miller and his dad, casting sad looks towards Jasper all the way back. As for Elena and Bellamy, they were side by side, hands interlinked, squeezing each other tightly. Elena had rested her head on Bellamy's shoulder, while Bellamy continued to gaze down at her, still trying to figure out what was going on with her.

Sighing, Elena wearily glanced up at him. "Spit it out, Bell."

He licked his lips, searching for the right words. "You're different."

"I am." She confirmed. "I was Indra's second for a while, along with Octavia." She began to elaborate, "I got stronger, learned how to fight, make hard decisions and lead." She remained silent for a while after that, allowing him the time to comprehend what he was hearing. "I don't regret it. I did what I thought was right, I became stronger to protect the ones I love."

"I get it." Bellamy smiled down at her. "I think you've done a pretty good job, Princess - if I can still call you that?"

"Always." Elena laughed quietly. "Thanks, by the way, it means a lot. But, just so you know, I am most definitely not a grounder! Actually, I can't wait to get this paint off of my face." She lifted her free hand up to try to wipe away the paint, proving her point. Bellamy just shook his head at her and chuckled. He didn't care if she was a grounder or not, he just wanted her to remain by his side forever and, luckily for him, she wanted that too.

* * *

The sun was shining, relieved smiles and happy reunions were taking place everywhere. Elena stood to the side by the gate, watching it all happen with a warm smile. They had been through hell and back, but now they were all finally safe. They could focus on trying to build lives for themselves. Warm, almond coloured eyes, no longer surrounded by the black warpaint, surveyed the camp in search of either a head of blonde hair or a head of dark curls, but she couldn't find either. Her brow furrowed in confusion, eyes turning to look past the gates into the vast area that surrounded the camp. Eventually, her eyes fell upon the two people she had been looking for, but the scene she witnessed was not at all what she expected. Clarke had reached up to hug Bellamy tightly, placing a kiss on his cheek while he returned the hug just as tightly, but that's not exactly what fazed Elena. They'd both been through a lot together and she was glad that they could be that close now. What had fazed her was that it looked like a goodbye hug. She jogged over to them, feeling slightly nauseous because she knew Clarke and she knew that after everything the blonde had done, she would feel as though she couldn't handle it. Elena didn't greet them when she reached them. She didn't give them a smile, she didn't make a joke. Instead, she begged. Begged for Clarke to change her mind. "Clarke, please come inside." Bellamy took a step back, leaving Clarke to Elena. He had tried to convince her to stay and failed. If anyone could make Clarke stay, it would be Elena.

Clarke looked like she had been dealt a physical blow. It honestly felt as if she had been. She hadn't anticipated being around long enough to be confronted by Elena and this was exactly the reason why, because Elena wouldn't just let her leave without a fight. The pleading look on Elena's face almost made her want to stay. Almost. She couldn't stay after everything she had done, she had to bear it, so that they didn't have to. "I can't."

"Yes, you can." Elena's voice was thick with emotion. Both girls were fighting back tears - and neither was winning. "You can't run from your problems, Clarke. You have to face them."

"I'm trying to, but I can't do it here. Seeing all of their faces, seeing your face, will only remind me of what I've done." Clarke tried to make Elena understand, but she could tell it wasn't working, even if she couldn't clearly see Elena's face due to the tears that made her vision blurry.

Elena scoffed and attempted to blink away her tears, but it only led to them falling down her face. "That's not dealing with your problems, Clarke, that's running from them!" She reached forward, grabbing Clarke's hands in her own and squeezed them tightly. "Look, Clarke, I forgive you, okay! I forgive you for everything that you've done and so will everyone else, they'll understand! So please, I'm begging you, please stay. Please don't leave me."

Clarke let her tears flow freely as she wrapped her arms around Elena tightly, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "You've been the best sister anyone could ever ask for." She gulped and pulled back. "May we meet again."

Elena shook her head profusely as tears slipped down her cheeks. "You are not the only one who has made hard decisions, Clarke." She pointedly looked at Bellamy, reminding Clarke that she didn't do any of it alone. "If you go through with this, I'll never forgive you."

Clarke nodded. "I'm sorry," were her last words before she turned and walked off into the woods, completely alone.

A sob erupted from Elena's throat. Another one followed soon after and suddenly she couldn't stop herself anymore. Everything had come crashing down on her and it was finally taking it's toll on her. Bellamy was quick to wrap her up in his arms and cradle her against his chest, running a hand through her hair and placing several kisses to the crown of her head. She sobbed, burying her face into Bellamy's chest. "Everything was supposed to get better once we saved everyone, so why isn't it?" Why isn't it, indeed.

* * *

**FINAL CHAPTER IS FINISHED! Woah, it's been crazy, but it's finally over. Until season 3, that is! I'm thinking of doing a few one shots between then and now, so if you guys want to request something you'd like to see (whether it's some sort of random memory you'd like Elena and Bellamy have together, an AU prompt, or maybe even a request involving yourselves and Bellamy/readerxBellamy) please do! I really hope you've enjoyed reading this story and thank you SO MUCH for all of your support! Until 2016, dear readers (for the main story, at least)~**


	32. Jealousy at its Finest

**A cute little Ark one shot for you guys as suggested by Nanania! Hope it's alright :)**

* * *

Bellamy Blake wasn't blind, nor was he stupid. He knew Elena was pretty - beautiful, even - and he knew that any guy with eyes could see that and would want to talk to her. Of course he was aware of that, but it didn't mean that he had to _like_ it. In fact, he hated it. How could he not hate it? He had been her best friend for over 6 years and he had recently ('finally', Octavia had muttered when he spoke about it with her) come to terms with the fact that he was in love with her. So when he walked down the hallway after a particularly long shift to meet with his princess, only to find some bratty kid trying to flirt with her and making her feel uncomfortable, he understandably got annoyed ('jealous' Octavia would later say between coughs during this particular story when Bellamy relayed the events of his day to her). He paused for a moment and observed the scene before him. This guy, who was a few inches taller than Elena with dark blonde hair, blue eyes, from what he could tell, and thought he was all that, was leaning against the door way to the lounge room - _their _lounge room - grinning at Elena, saying something to her. As sweet as ever, Elena politely smiled back at him and replied to his comment, humouring him. Okay, so she didn't exactly look uncomfortable, but the was a tightness to her smile and blondie was standing way too close for comfort, something which stirred up a bout of anger within Bellamy and he suddenly found himself clenching his fist tight enough to make his knuckles go white. He didn't mean to get so protective - and slightly possessive - over her, it just happened. The guy was just talking to her, he shouldn't have a problem with that, it would be ridiculous to get so jealous and angry over every guy who spoke to her and normally he wouldn't, but it was the look in this guy's eyes which made Bellamy made. The guy was practically leering at her, looking at her as if she was a prize to be won and it pissed Bellamy off. So much so, that he very nearly lost control over his anger and punched the look off of the guy's face.

* * *

From Elena's side, things weren't much better. She had beaten Bellamy to their meeting spot for once and had been patiently waiting for him. However, she was an impatient person and hated sitting around quietly with nothing to do. Deciding to poke her head out the door to glance down the hallway wasn't Elena's best idea as it had led her to this awkward moment. Caden was a classmate of hers, who spotted her and called out to her. He had shown signs of interest in her and had attempted to talk to her on a few occasions, but she always managed to escape having to deal with the awkward 'I don't like you like that' conversation (mostly using Clarke and Wells as an excuse). Sure, he seemed to be a nice enough person and Elena had known him for a long time, she just couldn't see him as anything more than a friend. Unfortunately, she didn't exactly have an excuse to get out the conversation and so when he approached her and leaned himself against the doorway (she only just managed to hold back an eye roll at his attempt to seem 'cool'), she had no choice but to engage in an awkward conversation with him.

Caden had a confident smile on his face, one that suggested that he knew he was going to get what he want. "Hey, Elena, how are you doing?"

Clearing her throat awkwardly, Elena's eyes subtly flitted from one end of the hallway to the other, desperately seeking a way out of this conversation. "Uh, good, thanks. You?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good. So I was wondering…"

She swallowed nervously. 'Uh oh, here it comes,' she thought to herself. He still wore that annoying, borderline arrogant grin, much to her chagrin. It wasn't that she wasn't used that kind of grin, it's just that it looked _so_ much better on Bellamy. She jolted slightly, blinking owlishly. Where did that thought come from? Here was this guy trying to ask her out and she was thinking of Bellamy. 'It's probably just because I'm about to meet him,' she brushed it off. "You were wondering what? If we had homework?" She tried to casually deter the conversation away from the topic of a date. It took all she had to keep on smiling politely at him and not to bolt.

Caden chuckled, thinking she was just messing about. "No, actually," he began leaning down, his face getting closer and closer to hers…

* * *

Fuming. Bellamy was fuming. Who did this punk think he was? Getting close to _his girl_ like that. Of course, he had to put a lid on all of his fury so he didn't punch the kid and lose his job as a guard. Instead, he stormed over to them, wrapping an arm around Elena's waist and rather abruptly pulling her back into his side. He didn't miss the sigh of relief that escaped her lips as she nestled herself into him.

"Who are you?" Caden asked rudely, glaring at the man who interrupted his conversation with Elena.

"I'm Bellamy," he offered no explanation about who he was to Elena, "and you are?" Bellamy held out a hand for the boy to shake. He smirked when he saw the blonde flinch at his firm grip and full on grinned when Caden clenched and unclenched his hand, trying to shake the pain away.

"Caden, Elena's classmate." Caden was still stupidly confident, though, saying this as if he had something that Bellamy didn't. Little did Caden know that Bellamy was the one Elena ran to whenever she needed someone to turn to; whether she was happy, excited, sad, angry, lonely, he was the one she went to.

An idea struck Elena as she noticed the tension between the two males. It was simple; all she had to do was make Caden think that Bellamy was her boyfriend without explicitly saying it, because then she wouldn't be lying. It was just be Caden's own assumption. "Bellamy," she drawled out his name in a whiney tone, "can we spend some time together? You've been working for ages and I was lonely." She pouted, lifting herself onto her tip toes to wrap her arms around Bellamy's neck, allowing his arms to wind around her waist to steady her, and place a kiss on the corner of his mouth, which would have looked like an actual kiss to Caden.

She grinned wickedly up at Bellamy, who had raised a brow out of amusement. He knew exactly what she was doing, and was all too happy to play along. "Sorry about that, Princess." He leaned down and kissed her nose lightly. "I'm all yours now. How about we go back to my place?" To anyone else, it would have sounded suggestive. To them, however, it was code for going to spend time with Octavia.

"Perfect!" Elena turned around in Bellamy's arms to face Caden, "see you in class, Caden!" She grinned, waving at him before grabbing Bellamy's hand and pulling him in the direction of his home.

"Later, _classmate._" Bellamy smirked, making sure to emphasise 'classmate', leaving a scowling Caden in his wake.

* * *

"Were you jealous?" Elena asked once they were out of Caden's hearing range.

"What-Why would you think that?" Bellamy stammered, not expecting to be called out of his jealousy.

"Well, you're the one who interrupted the conversation and pull me away from Caden." Elena pointed out, matter-of-factly.

Bellamy scoffed, "because I knew you were uncomfortable."

"But I hid it perfectly!" She argued.

He merely shrugged and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him so that he could kiss the top of her head. "Perhaps, but I know you better than anyone, Elena."

She sighed, pouting over the fact that he could read her so well, "I guess." He vowed that she would never find out that he was in fact jealous.

* * *

Octavia snorted when she heard about the little predicament after Elena left. "You were totally jealous!"

"Shut up."


	33. Story Time with Elena and Octavia

**Here is a one shot requested by Sammygummybear! Hope you like it and that it's kind of what you imagined :) By the way, Elena's book is literally just going to be Disney versions of fairy tales in a book because I'm a sucker for Disney. I'm basing the telling of 'Cinderella' on a video I found on YouTube called 'Story Time - Cinderella', if anyone's interested. It's easier than watching the film or trying to remember the entire story and put it into words! This is just a silly little one shot, by the way! Also, I am the worst at trying to think of titles.**

**A/N - I've changed the ages of the characters at the time when Elena meets Octavia so that Elena was 11, Octavia was 10 and Bellamy was 16. In this one shot, Octavia is 11, Elena is 12 and Bellamy is 17. By the way, Elena's book is literally just going to be Disney versions of fairy tales in a book because I'm a sucker for Disney. I'm basing the telling of 'Cinderella' on a video I found on YouTube called 'Story Time - Cinderella', if anyone's interested. It's easier than watching the film or trying to remember the entire story and put it into words! This is just a silly little one shot, by the way!**

* * *

Clutching the large, worn book to her chest using one hand, Elena raised her other hand to knock on the door. She rapped her knuckles against the metal 5 times in the agreed pattern which allowed the Blakes to know whether they had to hide Octavia or not. It had been 2 years since Bellamy and Elena met and 1 year since Bellamy introduced Elena and Octavia to each other, as well as his mother and Elena.

Understandably, Aurora was incredibly apprehensive of Bellamy's choice to inform Elena of his secret, especially when she found out who Elena's parents were. However, after a few months of watching how Elena interacted with her children and the way they both absolutely adored her, she soon grew to realise that Elena was a sweet girl with a heart of gold, who would never do anything to harm Bellamy and Octavia, and soon came to love the little brunette as if she were her own. So it wasn't a surprise to her when she heard the familiar knock at the door and found Elena standing behind it, smiling up at her, face barely managing to peek out from behind the book. Aurora opened the door slightly, enough to let the petite girl in, but not enough to show anyone in the hall Octavia. She greeted Elena with a warm, motherly smile, much like the one Elena's mother always had on her face. "Come in, Angel."

Elena beamed at Aurora's nickname for her. It seemed that Bellamy got his fondness for nicknames from his mother. "Thank you!" She walked into the small apartment and grinned at Octavia, who jumped up and down on the spot, excited to see her friend. "Hey, O!"

"Hey, Lena! You brought it!" Octavia exclaimed happily, rushing over to grab the book out of Elena's hands.

Elena laughed as Octavia went and clambered up onto Bellamy's bed, pushing herself back so that she leaned against the wall. Elena ran over and joined her. They both found it quite difficult compared to when Bellamy's there to lift them up onto it. "So which one do you want to read today?" Elena asked.

Octavia pursed her lips, thinking long and hard about her answer, before she decided that she'd let Elena chose. "Hm, what's your favourite?"

"Cinderella!"

"Is that the one with the shoe you told me about?" It was one they hadn't read together yet and it seemed as though Bellamy neglected to share Elena's favourite story with his sister.

Elena giggled and nodded her head. "That's the one." Aurora couldn't help but chuckle over the girls' antics. They were certainly amusing. She shook her head and went back to her work, absent-mindedly listening to the girls' conversation.

Smiling widely, Octavia opened the book and traced her finger along the chapter list, looking for Cinderella. "Ah ha!" She cheered when her finger finally landed on it. She flipped the pages and then handed the book to Elena. "Will you read it?"

"Okay!" Elena cleared her throat before she started reading. "Once upon a time, there was a girl named Cinderella. She lived with her step mother and step sisters, Drizella and Anastasia. The step mother was cruel and made Cinderella work very hard every day, while Drizella and Anastasia pranced around in their fancy gowns and made fun of Cinderella's worn, plain dress."

Octavia wrinkled her nose up in distaste at the picture of the step sisters and Cinderella. "Their dresses aren't _that _nice."

"No," Elena agreed, "but they're the villains, so we're not meant to find them all the pretty. In real life, they had much prettier gowns." She explained, very matter-of-factly.

"How do you know that?" Octavia inquired curiously.

"There's a book about fashion from the old world in the archives."

Octavia 'hmm'd appreciatively, "is this what they wore back in the early 2000s?"

"No," Elena answered, "honestly, they didn't wear much compared to earlier years."

"Oh." Octavia was slightly baffled. She was fascinated with Elena's knowledge on these odd topics, silently wishing that she too could read all the books Elena did.

"Shall we get back to the story?" When Octavia nodded, Elena continued. "One day a letter came to the house. The step mother called for her two daughters and told them to listen closely while Cinderella remained on the floor, scrubbing it clean. The letter read 'The king is having a ball tonight. His son, the prince, will choose a wife. Every girl in the kingdom must be there.' "Then I can go too!" said Cinderella. "You?" cried the step sisters and they laughed and laughed. "But it says every girl must be there," said Cinderella. The stepmother smiled and said "of course you may go, Cinderella, if you do your work first and if you have a dress to wear." "Oh, thank you!" said Cinderella."

Octavia narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the picture of the step mother, "I don't trust her."

"You shouldn't." Elena replied offhandedly, making Octavia wonder what was about to happen. Elena's eyes scanned over Cinderella's image. She reminded Elena of her mother with her blonde hair and blue eyes, as well as her kind nature. Maybe that was why this was her favourite story. A poke to her side made her squeak and jolt slightly, snapping out of her trance. She was ticklish, Octavia had found that out, and now it was used against her by both Octavia and Bellamy whenever she was in a daydream. Throwing a glare at Octavia, who smiled innocently, she continued with the story. "She ran up to her room. Some mice lived in Cinderella's room. They were her friends, who she made little clothes for."

"Mice?" Octavia muttered, frowning due to her confusion.

"Yeah, they're the little brown things in this picture." Elena pointed them out for the younger girl. "They're animals that lived on Earth."

"They're so cute! Did they always wear clothes in real life?"

"Hmm, I don't think so. Anyway, on with the story! "Guess what!" she cried, "I'm going to a ball at the palace!" "Hooray!" cheered the mice. Then she showed them an old dress, "it just needs a little mending," said Cinderella, "and maybe a sash and some beads to make it pretty." "Yes, yes, Cinderelli!"

"Cinderelli?" Octavia questioned Elena's pronunciation.

"That's what it says!" Elena defended herself, tapping the page to show Octavia. "I guess the mice speak strangely."

"Okay…" Octavia said slowly, still skeptical.

Elena huffed, but continued with the story anyway. ""Cinderella!" called the stepmother. Cinderella went downstairs. "I want you to clean the floor, was the windows and dust the drapes!" said the stepmother. "But I did that earlier." Cinderella replied. "Do it again!" ordered the stepmother. Cinderella worked as quickly as she could, but there was always another thing to do. "Cinderella! Cinderella! Cinderella!" "Oh dear," said Cinderella, "I will never have time to mend my dress!""

Octavia sighed, feeling bad for the character. "That must be really annoying."

"Definitely." Elena agreed, adding, "imagine being bossed around like that constantly!"

"It would be horrible." Their comments made Aurora smirk, 'oh to be young and naive,' she thought to herself. She know Bellamy would be disappointed that he missed their amusing story time.

They both returned their focus back to the book. ""They make Cinderelli,"" Elena ignored another skeptical glance from Octavia, ""work, work, work!" said a large mouse named Gus. "She'll have no time to fix her dress!" said a slim mouse called Jaq. "We can do it! We can fix Cinderelli's,"" cue raised eyebrows from Octavia and a huff from Elena, ""dress!" Cried the mice. Gus and Jaq sneaked into a big room where the sisters were dressing for the ball. The two step sisters threw away a sash and some beads, claiming to never want to see them again. The two mice took them to cinderella's room and began mending Cinderella's dress with the other mice. Cinderella had to help the step sisters with their dresses."

Octavia scoffed, crossing her arms and scowling at the book. "Of course she did." She got a better look at the picture and leaned forward. "They're wearing exactly the same dresses! I thought they had to look their best!" She complained, looking to Elena for an explanation.

However, Elena merely laughed and shrugged her shoulders, not having an answer. "Maybe those are their best dresses?"

The youngest Blake shook her head. "They have no hope of marrying the prince then." She declared. Settling back down, she signalled for Elena to continue.

"When they were done, the step mother said, "it's time to go to the ball, girls. Are you ready, Cinderella?" "No," said Cinderella sadly, "I've not had any time to fix my dress,""

"She knows Cinderella isn't ready!" Octavia shouted suddenly, angry at the step mother.

It made Elena jump, even though she was used to Octavia's random outbursts. She always got very immersed in the stories. "Calm down, O, it's just a story. Besides, it gets better, I promise!" She settled her brown gaze on the book. ""Too bad," said the step sisters without remorse, "you must learn to work faster." Cinderella sighed and went back to her room. She opened the door and found something wonderful! Her dress was ready! "Surprise!" Cried the mice. Cinderella smiled happily, looking over the dress, "it is the prettiest dress I have ever seen!" Once she put it on, Cinderella ran downstairs. "Wait," she called, "I can go now! I have a dress." The step mother and sisters couldn't believe their eyes. "My sash!" Screamed Drizella. "My beads!" Anastasia shouted. They both grabbed their respective items and yanked them from Cinderella's dress viciously."

Octavia gasped loudly, slamming her hand against the bunk as she lurched herself forward to stare at the book. "That's awful!"

Bellamy just so happened to be returning from his guard training at the time Octavia cried out. He was immediately alert, shaking off any tiredness, as he ran over to Octavia to see what was wrong. "O? Are you okay?" Aurora chuckled quietly as she watched her son quickly examine Octavia for any injuries or tears, doing the same thing to Elena afterwards.

"No! Cinderella's stepsisters are horrible!"

Bellamy had just finished checking over Elena when his sister's words registered in his mind. "Wait, what? That's what you're upset about? Octavia, you worried me!" He chided her, though it was light-hearted. He was too amused at her reaction to a simple story.

"Okay, girls, Bellamy needs to rest now." Aurora said, looking over at the trio.

Bellamy shook his head. "It's fine, I like listening to Princess' stories." He smiled and ruffled Elena's hair affectionately, making her giggle and rearranged hair curls. He went to climb up onto the bed, but his mother stop him with a groan.

"At least change out of your guard's shirt!" Aurora sent him a warning glare, daring him to argue with her. He sighed, but changed out of the shirt and into another top. "Happy now?" He asked cheekily.

"Very." His mother smirked, folding his shirt up. Elena and Octavia laughed quietly to themselves at the exchange, making Bellamy grin at them. He walked over to the beds and told Octavia to move over to the far edge. She did as she was told, lying down on the bed and watching Bellamy jump up and lay beside her. He pulled Elena down beside him, wrapping an arm around each of the girls and rested the book on his chest, holding it up for all of them to see. The girls got comfortable, cuddling into Bellamy. "Continue reading, Princess."

Elena nodded and found her place again. "Cinderella's dress was ruined. "Come along, girls," the stepmother beckoned, "the prince is waiting for you."

"No, he's not!" Octavia muttered. Bellamy snorted at his sister's behaviour.

"And off they went tot he palace," Elena continued, "leaving Cinderella behind. Cinderella ran to the garden and the mice followed after her. "How I did wish to go to the ball, but it's no use, wishes never come true." "Never, my dear?" Asked a voice from behind her. Cinderella turned around and looked up to find an elderly woman with a wand. "Who are you?" Cinderella asked. "I am your fairy godmother!" The old woman replied. "I am here to grant your wish! Now, let me see…I need a pumpkin-""

"Wait!" Octavia cut in before Elena could finish her sentence. "What's a pumpkin?"

"It's a type of fruit." Bellamy answered. "They used to eat it back on Earth."

"I wonder what it tastes like." Elena chimed in, idly drumming her fingers against Bellamy's chest.

"I'm not sure," Bellamy had a smile playing on his lips at the girls' curiosity. "C'mon, let's finish the story."

"Right, um," Elena tried to remember where she was, looking over the book, "ah!" She cheered victoriously. Bellamy grinned at her adorableness. "I need a pumpkin, and a horse, and a dog. What luck! They're right here."" 'How convenient," Bellamy thought to himself, shaking his head at the story. Elena and Octavia looked at him confusedly, but he waved them off. Well, he waved them off as best he could while having both arms preoccupied. ""And ah, yes, I will need some mice!" When the mice heard this, they began to run, but the fairy godmother stopped them with her wand. "Now for the magic words!" The fairy godmother proclaimed. "Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"" Octavia snorted, loudly, cracking up at the magic words. Elena frowned, trying to look angry at Octavia for interrupting her again, but alas, Octavia's laughter was contagious and soon enough the trio were all laughing hard enough to bring tears to their eyes. Wiping away her tears, Elena tried to catch her breath so they could finally finish the story. She cleared her throat once more and avoided looking at the others, who still let snickers escape the lips. "With a wave of her wand the pumpkin turned into an extravagant coach, the horse turned into a coachman, the dog turned into a footman and the mice turned into large, white horses. "Now, hop in, my dear!" The fairy godmother ordered. "But my dress…" Cinderella frowned, looking at her ruined dress. "Oh my, I almost forgot! She waved her wand again and in the place of Cinderella's ruined dress was a beautiful, sparkling gown. On her feet were glass slippers."

"Now, that's a much nicer dress! She looks so pretty." Octavia smiled with a decisive nod.

"She laughed and span around. "Oh thank you!" Cinderella said gratefully. "Now, hop into the coach, but remember, all the magic ends when the clock strikes 12." "I won't forget," Cinderella promised. At the ball, the king was complaining-"

"Wait!" Octavia cut her off once again. "Bellamy should read all the boy parts!"

Bellamy looked like he was going to protest, but easily complied once Octavia threw him her best puppy dog eyes. "Fine." Elena was happy with that and rested her head on Bellamy's shoulder. "Don't get too comfy, Princess, you'll be up again soon." She merely buried her face into his shoulder as if to make a point about not caring, making him smirk. ""The prince has met all the girls in the kingdom," he said, "and he has not found one he likes." "Give him time," The grand duke replied, but the king didn't want to wait. "He's had enough time," cried the king." He momentarily let go of one side of the book and brought his hand up to pinch Elena's cheek, ignoring her groan of protest. "You're turn."

Lifting herself up slightly, she read the book aloud. "Cinderella walked into the ballroom. When the prince saw her, he bowed. This time, it was Elena's turn to alert Bellamy of his part and lightly punched his side.

He feigned a pained expression, making the brunette roll her eyes at him. Octavia laughed at them, but soon pestered Bellamy to read his part. ""May I have this dance?"" He asked."

""Yes." Cinderella replied, letting him take her hand. All night the prince danced only with Cinderella. They danced around the floor as if in a dream. Everyone said 'how lovely she is' or 'who could she be?' The hours went by quickly. Suddenly, the clock began to strike midnight. Cinderella ran out of the ballroom and down the palace steps. As she ran, one of her glass slippers slipped off her foot, but she didn't have time to go back for it."

"So that's why you were talking about a shoe." Octavia realised, finally understanding the significance of the slipper.

"Yep!" Elena grinned, knowing she had confused Octavia when she described the story of Cinderella using glass slippers as a key focus. She looked back at the story. "By the time the prince reached the steps, she was gone. He saw the glass slipper on the floor and held it up."

""The girl who wore this slipper is the girl I want to marry."" Bellamy made sure to be plenty over dramatic when making the declaration, earning him laughter from the two girls and his mother. "He told the grand duke to find her."

"Even before Cinderella was home, the magic had ended. The coach turned back into a pumpkin-"

"At least she has something for dinner." Bellamy commented with a smirk. Octavia matched his expression, while Elena shook her head at him.

"The coachman turned back into a horse, the footman turned back into a dog and there were Cinderella and the mice, just as they were before. The following day, the grand duke visited every house in the kingdom with the glass slipper, having every girl try it on. Cinderella was up in her room when he arrived at their home. First, Drizella tried the slipper, but her foot was much too long for it. Next, Anastasia tried the shoe, but her foot was much too wide."

"Wow, Cinderella must had really tiny feet." Octavia murmured. She had begun feeling rather drowsy, but was trying to stay awake. It didn't help that her brother was incredibly warm and very comfy to lay on.

""Are there any other girls in this house?" The grand duke asked." Bellamy said.

It was Elena's turn again. ""No," said the step mother. Just then, Cinderella ran downstairs."

""Who is this?" The grand duke inquired, looking at Cinderella."

""She is only the maid." The stepmother answered, ignoring Cinderella's presence and trying to get rid of the duke."

""I don't care. She too must try the slipper." He declared, helping Cinderella sit down before sliding the slipper onto her foot." Octavia was vaguely aware of the words her brother said, but his and Elena's words were becoming less and less distinguish able and more and more like a comforting sound lulling her to sleep.

"It fit perfectly. Cinderella pulled out the other glass slipper from her pocket and held it up."

"The duke bowed before her. "You are the girl the prince says he must marry."

"So Cinderella went to the palace and married the prince and they lived happily ever after. The end." Elena concluded.

Bellamy shut the book and looked over at Elena, who's jaw had dropped. "What's wrong, Princess?"

"After all of her interruptions, she didn't even stay awake to hear then end!" Elena pouted cutely.

He chuckled at her whining and wrapped his arms around the two even tighter than before, kissing the top of Octavia's head and then Elena's. "Oh well, I needed to get some sleep anyway."

"I guess I am kind of tired after all that reading…" Elena muttered, cuddling into Bellamy's side again and closing her eyes. Bellamy copied her actions and it didn't take long for the both of them to drift off to sleep. Aurora picked up a blanket and placed it on top of the trio. She looked at the three of them with a fond smile, taking a mental image of the sight before her. Yes, she had no regrets of letting Elena into their little family.


	34. Clarke Strikes Again (One Shot)

**Here is a one shot requested by Iwannabelikeme! I hope it's what you had in mind. Once more, I apologise for the horrible title. Enjoy :) **

**A/N: Elena is 16 and Bellamy is 21.**

* * *

It was a regular day on the Ark for Elena and Bellamy. Elena had been to school, shadowed her mother and Abby at work in the medical bay with Clarke, and, finally, ended up on a couch, cuddled into Bellamy's side with his arm wrapped tightly around her. Bellamy had had his regular shift as guard before heading to meet Elena. They'd exchanged how their days had been and were now sitting in a comfortable silence, savouring their time together. Bellamy was running his fingers through Elena's hair, marvelling at it's softness, when she eventually spoke up.

"Hey, Bell?" She asked, her voice soft and quiet.

It was very unlike Elena, Bellamy mused. "Yeah?" He responded just as quietly. He could tell something was going on inside that pretty head of hers and was curious to find out what.

Elena turned to face him, lifting her legs up to settle them across his lap. "What do you want? Like, in the future?" Grabbing the hand that wasn't playing with her hair, she began playing with his fingers idly.

To say he was taken aback was an understatement. They had never spoken about the future, because they knew that it would involve hiding Octavia away and keeping her sheltered for the rest of her life or the possibility of getting caught, something which neither of them wanted to discuss. However, he supposed Elena was talking about a more general future, like a job and, dare he say it, marriage. His heart sped up at the thought of actually marrying the girl he loved - the very same girl who was sat beside him. In a way, he thought amusedly, they already acted like a married couple. They had their own secret that only the two of them (and his mother, but details) shared, their own little private jokes and they were always spending time together. It wasn't until a gentle nudge in his side snapped him out of his thoughts did he realise that he had yet to answer the question. "I guess…" Bellamy licked his lips, trying to figure out what to say. He decided avoiding the marriage topic would probably be a wise decision - less chance of Elena finding out about his feelings. "I guess," He started again, "I just want to work my way up the ranks in the guard so that I can give my mom and O a better life."

Elena smiled warmly up at him. She loved the way his cared about his mother and sister more than anything and that he'd do anything for them. She looked back down at their hands, which she had now linked together, feeling rather coy all of a sudden. "What about love?"

Bellamy grinned his boyish smile at her. "Well, everyone wants to find love, Princess." He replied, thankful that he could deflect the specified question.

Her gaze met his again when she heard his answer. "So you want to get married?" Lowering her voice, she added, "would you tell her about O?"

'I wouldn't have to tell you,' he couldn't help but think to himself. Bellamy shrugged, trying to play it off. "It would be pretty difficult not to, don't you think?" He spoke again, not giving Elena the chance to make him elaborate. "What about you? What do you want in the future?"

Her entire face lit up, "to be a doctor, of course!" With a beautiful smile spread across her face, she launched into her reasoning for wanting to be a doctor, something Bellamy had already heard before, but would still listen to because they way she got all excited and passionate about it was absolutely adorable. "I want to be able to help those in need and what better way to do that than becoming a doctor? I mean, I'd be helping people survive, which is amazing." He chuckled at her gushing. "Plus," Bellamy raised a brow at her, normally her spiel would end there, "it means if O gets sick you'll have a professional that can help you and your mom out!"

Hearing her say that made his heart swell with pride, gratitude and love for the girl. She wanted to become a doctor so that there would be someone with the ability to truly help Octavia if she was ill. Just when he thought he couldn't love her anymore, she gave him another reason to love her. He was beginning to think that his mother was right in giving Elena the nickname 'Angel' and considered changing his nickname, but quickly dismissed the idea when he remember how, for years, she'd screw her nose up cutely before she finally admitted to actually being quite fond of the name. Leaning down to her, he placed a kiss on her nose, taking her by surprise. "You're incredible, you know that?"

Ever the modest one, Elena blushed slightly and stammered out, "that's what doctors are supposed to do."

Bellamy shook his head at her and tousled her hair, making her pout and pull her hand away from his to fix it. "So what about love?"

"Love, huh?" Elena muttered, slowly pulling her hands away from her hair and re-joining one with his. "I want…" She started hesitantly, avoiding his gaze. "I want someone who will understand me without needing to use words. All it would take is one look for them to know something's wrong. Someone who will know when to push and when to back off. And I want someone who I can mess around with; have private jokes with; have ridiculous nicknames for me, someone who I can trust no matter what…" Elena's voice grew softer and softer, until she trailed off and looked up from their joined hands and straight into Bellamy's eyes. "Someone like…you." She finally concluded. Bellamy's breath caught in his throat, had she finally realised she felt the same way as him? They remained silent, neither one noticing that they were slowly leaning closer and closer to each other until they both felt the other's breath spill across their cheeks and their eyes started slowly closing…

..

.

until a familiar blonde came running in, feet smacking heavily against the metal floor. Bellamy and Elena jumped backwards as if they had been electrocuted. "Elena, I need to talk to you!" Clarke declared loudly, leaning on the doorway, panting heavily. She hadn't even spared Bellamy a glance.

"Uh, right, of- of course!" The brunette stuttered, clambering up from the couch clumsily. She turned to Bellamy, who had also stood up, making sure to avoid his gaze. "I'll, um, I'll come over to yours when I'm done, you don't mind, right?"

"Uh-no, no, of course not." Bellamy replied, trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Okay!" Elena squeaked - yes, she actually squeaked - before hurriedly leaving the room with Clarke in tow. Little did they know, Clarke would strike again in the near future…


	35. A World Drained of Colour

**So this is a one shot about how Bellamy felt after Elena and Octavia were taken away. It was requested by SpoonfullOfSugar, so thank you for this great prompt! I honestly had no idea how to go about writing this, nor did I really know what to write, so it's nowhere near as long as the others and may not be as good. It was, however, interesting to look at this moment from Bellamy's point of view and I hope I've done it some kind of justice instead of butchering any kind of scenarios you guys may have created yourselves. I hope you enjoy it and please do send in any requests you may have, whether they're silly little things, random AU prompts you may have found on tumblr, ideas you've come up with yourself, because I am really enjoying writing these one shots! Bye for now :)**

* * *

It had all begun so well. He had a carefully thought out plan in his mind. He would work the shift of the party, buy Octavia and Elena masks, make sure his mother was distracted and then he'd have Octavia follow him from a distance so that she could explore the Ark without getting lost or caught. They'd then meet Elena at the party and she'd help him keep an eye on Octavia. It was perfect; flawless. Until it wasn't.

* * *

It all happened so fast. One minute he was watching his two girls dancing happily together, the next there's panic and chaos everywhere and they're asking for I.D.s. He felt his breath catch in his throat, panic rising within him, his stomach in knots. He tried to save Octavia, he really did. He thought that Shumway would help him, but he didn't. In fact, he did the exact opposite. Bellamy really didn't expect Elena to do what she did, though he knew he should have. She'd do anything to protect Octavia so when she swung her elbow at Shumway, allowing his sister a chance to run, he shouldn't have been at all surprised. He felt like he was frozen in place as he watched Octavia run away, only to be caught once she reached the exit. His eyes flickered slightly to the side where Elena was being grabbed by Shumway, the two of them sharing an unpleasant conversation of sorts, but he couldn't hear them. All he could hear was the blood rushing to his ears. His world was falling apart right in front of him, being ripped away from him bit by bit. Bellamy watched on as Octavia was pulled out of the room and then as Elena turned to him with tear filled eyes, mouthing an apology to him. He wanted to rush towards her, take her in his arms, tell her that she had nothing to be sorry for, but Shumway marched her out of the room before he could even take one step towards her.

* * *

Bellamy felt sick to his stomach as he finally willed himself to move. He barely made it into one of the hallways before he released some of his anger, slamming his fist repeatedly against the cold metal wall. His knuckles would be bruised the next day, but he really didn't give a damn. How could he when he had just had two of the most important people to him taken away from him? He had to find out what they were going to do with Octavia and Elena. Well, that was until some of the other guards, his colleagues, ushered him to a room where he was told sit down and wait for Shumway to return. He had no idea what was going to happen to him, Octavia, Elena or his mother - _oh god, his mother. _She would kill him herself_. _He could only sit there and curse himself for his own stupidity. How could he possibly have thought this would work? Not only had he managed to get Octavia caught, but now Elena was caught up in this. No matter what happened to him and his family, Elena would definitely be put in the skybox. Keeping a second child a secret on top of assaulting a guard, even if her father was head of security, she wouldn't get out of that one. They'd choose to make an example of her. He could only hope that his princess would be reviewed and spared when she turned 18. She had to be, she had a bright future in medicine ahead of her, they couldn't afford to lose her and neither could he. Shumway eventually came in with a sickening smirk on his face. He explained how Octavia and Elena would be put in the skybox and Bellamy wouldn't have access to them. That night was the last night he would see them until they were 18. Shumway continued on to explain how Bellamy wouldn't be floated as he wasn't the one to actually choose to have a second child, he merely aided in keeping her hidden. Instead, he would be demoted to a mere janitor in an apartment even smaller than his current one. Finally, Shumway concluded with the punishment of his mother. She would be floated immediately and he wasn't even allowed to say goodbye.

* * *

That night, he gathered up the very few things he owned and moved to his new apartment. He lied down on the bed, staring blankly at the wall opposite him. Never had he felt so lost and broken. It all became too much; he had lost everything. And so, he let it all out. Tears fell from his eyes, one after another, refusing to stop. He sobbed and sobbed, clutching tightly at the worn, old book that had 'Fairytales' written in cursive on the front. What little colour he had in his life had now been drained away, leaving him alone and miserable in a world filled with grey.


	36. 13 is unlucky, I tell you!

**So when I did a bit of research for this one shot, I found out that Triskaidekaphobia is really just extreme superstition regarding the number 13. I wouldn't necessarily describe Elena as suffering from this phobia, but as you'll see, she is definitely superstitious when it comes to the number 13. Sorry if this wasn't what you were hoping for, but it's my kind of take on it, so I hope you enjoy it :) Sorry it's so short!**

**Requested by , thank you for the interesting prompt ^_^**

* * *

The number 13 has been considered unlucky for a very long time for a number of reasons. For example, there's a Norse legend which states that Loki, a Norse God, was the 13th (uninvited) guest to show up at the banquet of Gods and he killed many of the other Gods. A more well known reason is that Judas, the man who betrayed Jesus, was thought to be the 13th man to take his place at the table. Because of this, many religious people were highly superstitious of the number 13. Now, what with her grandmother being the Religious Leader on the Ark, Elena had always been weary of the number 13, having had her grandmother's superstitions kind of nailed into her head. It wasn't that Elena didn't have proof that the number 13 was unlucky, especially when it came to Friday the 13th. She had had multiple incidents occur on Friday the 13th such as the time she and Clarke had been playing chase and she tripped over, hitting her head against the table. She ended up having a few stitches put in and concession, which meant she had to stay up for at least 24 hours so her mother could make sure that she was okay (needless to say that she was _very_ moody for a few days). There was also that time where she, Clarke and Wells were playing together, pretending the floor was lava and jumping from one piece of furniture to another. Wells slipped and landed on his ankle at an awkward angle, spraining it badly enough to need crutches for a couple of day. Not to mention the time when she failed her test that was taken on Friday the 13th. She _never_ failed tests. It wasn't in her nature. However, when she had brought the topic up with her father and Bellamy (on separate occasions, of course), they said that they were mere coincidences and that having the expectation of something going wrong because it's Friday the 13th was probably why she messed up on her test. Elena simply brushed their comments off, certain that there was definitely something unlucky about the number 13. So when it came to her 13th birthday, she, understandably (in her and her grandmother's opinion), panicked. A day of bad luck she could handle - barely - but a year? It would be pure torture!

"You don't understand, Bellamy! Something horrible will probably happen this year because I'll be 13! So much could go wrong. I could do badly in school all year and not ever get to become a doctor or I might do something wrong and get myself locked up in the skybox or-"

"Hey, Princess, look at me." He grabbed her face in his hands, making her look at him, like he usually did with Octavia if she started panicking about getting caught. Bellamy had never seen her get like this, he was used to the happy, smiley Elena, but here she was on the verge of tears and hyperventilating. "Nothing is bad like that is going to happen. You'll definitely become a doctor and can you really see yourself ever breaking the law?" He reassured her, slightly bemused. It seemed as though her grandmother had really got to her with her crazy superstitions.

"I guess." She replied quietly, realising that she was being slightly (very) extreme.

"You have nothing to worry about," he said in a calm, soothing voice.

"Nothing to worry about." She repeated. She smiled sheepishly at him. "I'm being kind of ridiculous, aren't I?"

Bellamy shrugged slightly, chuckling a little. "Maybe a bit." He moved back to his place beside her, still watching her closely to make sure she didn't start freaking out again.

She relaxed, heat rising to her cheeks as she realised how stupid she must look. Still, she wasn't completely convinced that 13 wasn't anything to be afraid of. "Being 13 may not lead to bad luck, but Friday the 13th is most definitely unlucky." She concluded with a decisive nodding, meeting her father and Bellamy's disbelief half way.

Bellamy rolled his eyes and and leaned back, content that Elena was perfectly okay. "Whatever you say, Princess."

In the end, Elena needn't have worried about her 13th year of being alive; all was well. It was her 16th and 17th years she should have feared. It would be a time filled with anger, loss, loneliness and heartbreak, but how was she to know?


	37. Family Disputes

**Hey, Chloe here with a new one shot for you all! Sorry it's really short compared to the others, but I'm tired and I've had a long day and my mind kinda blanked, but it is basically how I pictured this conversation would go down in my mind, so here ya go. Enjoy :)**

**Requested by below average, thank you for sending in a request ^_^**

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking?" Marcus Kane's booming voice echoed off of the metal walls. He slammed his hands against the table, making Elena noticeably flinch.

She wouldn't back down though. She knew she did the right thing. It may not have worked, but at least she tried. "I was trying to save my friend."

"Yes, your friend who broke the law." Marcus was fuming. He couldn't believe that his own daughter - who should know better - broke the law and landed herself in the skybox. He knew that she liked to undermine his authority and test his patience; she had done ever since her mother was floated. This, however, was taking it too far, even for her. And now he had to arrest his reckless daughter.

"All she did was live! I don't see how that is a crime!" Elena shouted back, crossing her arms over her chest and matching her father's cold glare with her own.

"You know exactly why it's a crime, Elena. You're not stupid, so stop acting like it! You assaulted a guard and kept an illegal child a secret. Do you truly understand how serious this is? I hope you know that I can't save you from this one, young lady, and I wouldn't even if I could."

Her heart clenched painfully at his words and her glare faltered. He wouldn't save his daughter from a very real possibility of death if he could? She willed away the tears that sprung to her eyes and tried to push back the lump in her throat. "You don't like what I did? Fine. But _I_ hope _you_ know thatI did what mom would have done. And I happen to know that she'd have been proud of me for standing up for what was right."

Marcus held back a sigh. He knew his daughter was still trying to heal after her mother's death, but this time she had gone too far. "Stop using your mother as an excuse, Elena-"

She cut him off, shouting "I'm not using her as excuse! She would have understood, unlike you!"

"I do understand, Elena. I understand that you were too busy acting out at me to notice that you took things too far-"

Elena bolted up from her seat, screaming at her father, "I did this for Octavia, not to get your attention! Octavia is like my little sister, she's my family, something you don't seem to understand or care about anymore." She couldn't take this anymore. It would all just end up in a screaming match between her and her father - even more than it already was - so she turned her back on her father. "Don't both visiting me in the skybox. We both know you can't stand having a daughter who's a 'criminal'." She began walking towards the door, wanting to tell the guards to take her to her cell already.

"Elena, sit back down, right now. We aren't done here." Marcus demanded harshly.

"Yes, we are." She replied calmly, opening the door and stepping into the hallway. The guards must have heard everything as they awkward shared a glance before looking back at the girl. "Take me to my cell." Elena said, voice devoid of any kind of emotion. She didn't need to look at her father to know that he immediately gave up on his daughter and allowed her to be taken away.


	38. Seeing in Colour Once More

**Hey guys, so I got another two awesome prompts from a reader and this is one of them. The prompt for this one is how Bellamy felt when he saw Elena again for the first time after her arrest. This was requested by GhostlySights, so I hope you enjoy it :)**

* * *

These kids were a nightmare. Completely out of control. He felt as thought he was too old for this, and he was only 23! To make things worse, neither of the two girls that he actually wanted - no, needed - to see were amongst the boisterous crowd. The kids were pushing and shoving their way to the front, attempting to escape the pod. Being dressed as a guard gave him an advantage over everyone else because it was a sign of authority. Bellamy wasn't a real guard anymore, but they didn't need to know that.

"Okay, just back it up, guys!" He shouted over the noise, watching as the kids calmed down slightly and listened to him. He walked over to the lever that would open the door and was ready to pull it until a voice stopped him.

"Stop!" It was a girl, from what he could tell from her voice. Turning around to face the person, he saw a girl of about 17 climbing down the ladder. The dingy light made it hard to get a clear view of her, but he could just make out blonde hair and an angry face. She pushed through the crowd, stopping in front of him. She was pretty, but nothing that caught his interest. No, that was reserved for someone else. "The air could be toxic!"

"If the air's toxic, we're already dead, anyway." That was just the cold, hard truth. The girl opened her mouth to argue once more, but was cut off by another voice. A familiar voice.

"Clarke? Clarke?" Her voice was just as sweet as he remembered it and it sounded like home. Everyone looked to the ladder, where another girl was climbing down it. Long, rich brown curls fell down her back, bouncing slightly as she jumped the last couple of steps, landing on the ground with a small thud. Her warm, chocolate brown eyes scanned the crowd, looking for her friend. She was every bit as beautiful as the day she was ripped from him and he finally felt like he could breathe again for the first time in a very long time. Shoving her way through the other kids, she latched onto to the blonde's arm, making the shorter girl face her, not noticing he was standing right in front of her because she was too intent on talking to her friend. "Hey-"

Bellamy willed his brain to formulate words, a word, anything, really. "Elena?" Of course the first word to leave his lips would be her name. He couldn't really help it, though. Here she was, right in front of him, close enough to touch. Seeing her again felt like a dream. All he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and never let go. He watched her as she registered his voice. First of all, her brow furrowed, lips pouting slightly out of confusion, then her face transformed into a look of disbelief, before she finally turned to him. A grin formed on Bellamy's face, his first smile in a long time, as he heard her whisper his name. Her eyes shined as tears quickly filled them and he couldn't take it anymore. He had to hold her in his arms. "C'mere." She laughed quietly and threw herself into his arms, throwing her arms around his neck tightly. He relished in her touch, her warmth, her scent, everything about her, wrapping his arms around her waist, not willing to let her go. Ever. "I missed you." He murmured against the the soft curls that covered her neck.

"I missed you, too." Her voice cracked slightly as she placed a small kiss to his shoulder. She pulled away quickly, and he only just held back his protests. "But, how are you here? How is this possible?" Elena shook her head, trying to wrap her head around the fact that he was here with here. She was pulling that confused face of hers where she pouts her lips cutely and he had to bite back a grin. Opening his mouth to answer, the conversation was interrupted by a third girl, who was also making her way down the ladder.

"Bellamy? Elena?" Octavia. And now, his world was filled with colour once more.


	39. Training Together

**Hey guys, I'm back with another one shot for you. This was requested by Ruthie, hope you like it! Sorry it took so long, life has been a bit crazy recently. Enjoy~**

**A/N - This is set sort of between episode 3 and episode 4, so before Bellena became a thing.**

* * *

"Why am I out here at an ungodly hour? No one else has to be." A very disgruntled Elena asked the man walking beside her. Her movements were slow - begrudging, even. She was trying to rapidly blink away her sleepiness, while running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to make herself look relatively presentable.

Bellamy held back a chuckle at her entire demeanour, knowing he was already on thin ice, choosing to smile fondly at the tired girl instead. "I told you already, I want to start training you so that you're able to defend yourself." He casually threw an arm around her neck and pulled her into him, kissing the top on her head. "You know I'll always be there to protect you, but it's always good to know how to protect yourself."

"I didn't think you were actually serious about that." Elena groaned, allowing her head to drop onto his shoulder. "That doesn't explain why you hauled me out of bed at this time."

He shrugged, "less interruptions." He knew she'd take that as they'd get more training done, but really he just didn't want his time alone with her to be constantly disrupted.

"Still, you didn't have to pick me up, take me out of the tent and drop me on the ground!"

"I did not drop you!" Bellamy argued. He had placed her gently on her feet. It's not his fault she wasn't entirely away and nearly fell to the floor. "Besides, I caught you before you hit the ground, didn't I?"

Elena rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "You could have at least put my boots on before doing that."

He gave her his boyish grin in an attempt to earn himself forgiveness. "Okay, I am sorry about that part."

She narrowed her eyes at him, for a moment, but eventually relented, whacking his side lightly. "Fine, you're forgiven." Honestly, it was nice to speak with him like this again. Recently, he had been so focused with trying to lead everyone that he had become a completely different person. One she wasn't particularly fond of. She stopped walking suddenly, making Bellamy stop with her, looking down at her with a questioning gaze. She smiled up at him and shook her head, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and burying her head into his chest, stealing and relishing in his warmth. "It's nice to talk like this again." Her voice was slightly muffled, but Bellamy understood her.

He felt a bit disheartened by what she said. Bellamy knew that things had been crazy as of late, what with trying to lead a group of teenagers and try not to get killed by grounders while trying to survive in general, but he didn't realise just how different he'd become. She and Octavia were everything to him - the whole reason he came down here, in fact - and he hadn't even spent that much time with them. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and softly kissed the top of her head, resting his atop of her head. "Sorry, Princess." Closing his eyes, he enjoyed the moment as much as he could. It was rare that he'd feel so at peace, but that was just Elena for you, she could calm him down even in his most frantic moments.

A sigh left her lips as she pulled away. "So I guess we should start training, huh?"

Bellamy couldn't hold back his laugh at her reluctance. "Yeah, we should." They were on the outskirts of the camp, where they wouldn't wake anyone up. "Okay, let's just work on your punches today."

Elena frowned, wasn't throwing a punch easy? "That's easy, you just do this," she clenched her fist and swung at him.

Bellamy easily evaded the hit and aught her wrist, tugging on it so that she fell forward into him. She rested her free hand on his chest to steady herself before glaring up at him. "Did you really just try to punch me?" Bellamy chuckled at her antics. "You're way to careless with your throw and it wouldn't have been very powerful."

"So you wouldn't really have felt anything?" Elena asked sheepishly.

"No," he flipped her wrist over, "but at least you've got your thumb in the right position. You won't believe how many guys broke their thumb in guard training because they curled their fingers over their thumb." He rolled his eyes at the memory. He let go of her wrist and grabbed her shoulders, pushing her back lightly so that she was standing straight. "The best way to get power behind your throws is to stand with your feet shoulder width apart," Elena did as she was told, placing her right foot in the correct position behind her left. She looked up to Bellamy for approval, who nodded, satisfied with the fact that she wasn't being stubborn and was actually listening to him. "And then, you want to transfer your weight from this foot," he tapped the side of her right thigh lightly to indicate which one he was referring to, "to this one." He finished, tapping her left thigh. "All you need to do is throw your arm forward as quickly as you can. Wait!" He shouted, only just managing to stop her from throwing the punch. He wasn't going to let her punch him now that she knew how to do it properly. His money was on her having one hell of a mean punch. He held his hand up. "Aim for my hand, okay?"

Elena nodded. "Okay, but if my aim isn't as good as you think it is and I punch you, you can't blame me for it!"

"If you miss my hand and get my face, I'm definitely going to suspect that you did it on purpose! After all, you did actually try to punch me earlier." Bellamy teased with a grin.

"Damn, you foiled my plan." Elena sighed dramatically, earning her a chuckle from Bellamy. "But in my defence, you definitely deserved that punch! You woke me up ridiculously early and then dropped me mercilessly on the floor."

"I didn't drop you!" Bellamy protested again, shaking his head at her. "Come on, throw the punch." He waved his hand about slightly, emphasising his demand.

Elena inhaled deeply before following Bellamy's instructions, throwing her arm out quickly and smoothly, resulting in a loud smack resounding throughout the air around them. She straightened herself up and looked expectantly at Bellamy. "How'd I do?"

Bellamy smirked proudly, while clenching and unclenching his hand, trying to get rid of the stinging pain. Of course, he'd never let her know that she actually managed to hurt him. "Very good, Princess. It almost tickled. Now try it again." Elena threw her head back and groaned. It was going to be a long morning.


	40. Sleeping BeautyLiterally

**Hey guys, it's been a while! I'm back with a new one shot for you. This is just a ridiculous, silly idea that popped into my head one day and, well, this is the aftermath. Enjoy ^_^**

**Ages: Elena - 16, Octavia - 15, Bellamy - 21**

* * *

It had been a quiet, uneventful afternoon for the most part. It was rare that Bellamy had a day off when Elena had no school and as a result, they had learned to appreciate and relish in these days. They were usually spent locked away in the Blake apartment - for obvious reasons - away from the rest of society, where they were free to be themselves and not have to live up to any expectations; they could be as childish as they wanted. A small part of the afternoon had been occupied by hair; Octavia had french braids, courtesy of Elena, whose hair was now completely tangle free, thanks to Bellamy running his fingers through it all afternoon. A few more hours had been occupied by idle chit chat about things like what Elena learned in school recently, some particularly hilarious and embarrassing mishaps Bellamy had witnessed during guard training and their thoughts on what the Earth would look like if they could ever return to it. No matter what it was they did, time would always pass quickly, simply because they were together and enjoying themselves.

The trio had recently moved themselves onto Bellamy's bed, with him and Octavia leaning against the wall, feet dangling over the edge, and Elena laying properly on the bed with her head in Bellamy's lap. It was getting late, from what Elena could tell, and she could feel herself getting sleepy (it didn't help that Bellamy was still messing about with her hair). She turned onto her side, burying her face into Bellamy's thigh and let out a content sigh. She was so close to falling asleep that she barely registered Bellamy's chuckle at her and the way his hand gently brushed over her shoulder, down her arm and then back up again.

"Sleeping Beauty!" Octavia leapt up from her slouched position, landing on the metal floor with a soft thud. Her sudden outburst startled Elena, who sat up quickly, nearly falling over the edge of the bed, if it wasn't for Bellamy, who caught her thanks to his quick reflexes. Elena peered up at him, giving a sigh of relief and sending him a quick, appreciative smile, before glaring at O, who smiled sheepishly at her best friend. Bellamy merely smirked at the two and shook his head at them.

"What are you talking about, Octavia?" Elena asked, wearily.

"We should act out Sleeping Beauty!" There was amount of silence, in which she received dumbfounded looks. "What?" She asked, defensively. "You guys always get to see the Unity Day play. I want to see some sort of a play, too!"

Elena frowned, huffing slightly at the thought of the effort required to fulfil Octavia's wish as she flopped back down on the bed and Bellamy's lap. "The Unity Day story is nothing like Sleeping Beauty."

"She right." Bellamy agreed, adding, "and where is this all coming from, anyway?"

"Oh, well, Elena was beginning to go to sleep and I saw her Fairy Tale book lying on the side and I was just reminded of Sleeping Beauty." Octavia answered with a shrug. "Come on, you guys! It will be fun."

Shifting around, slightly uncomfortable with the situation, Elena sighed. "Fine, I guess it's only fair that you get to see something," she paused to try and find the right wording, "_like _the Unity Day play, but you do realise that this isn't what goes down on Unity Day, right?"

Octavia gave her an 'mhmm' and an eager nod. "Okay, so, Lena you're the princess and Bellamy's the prince." Bellamy's heart started racing slightly, he was familiar with the story and knew what being the prince entailed.

Bellamy groaned slightly, realising that he wasn't getting out of this. "Fine, but we're only doing once scene."

"Okay," Octavia complied. That was easier than expected, Bellamy thought.

"So what scene do you want to do?" Elena asked.

A smug grin appear on the youngest Blake's face as she looked at Bellamy. "Hmm," she drawled out, "let me have a look!" She dived for the book and began scanning the story. Of course, Octavia was only pretending to not have any idea about what she wanted them to do. In actuality, she knew exactly which scene she wanted to make them do, and Bellamy had a horrifying, overpowering feeling that he knew to. He looked at Elena, who sat there patiently with not a single clue as to what Octavia's ridiculous (genius, as Octavia would argue) plan.

"I think we should do the scene where the prince wakes the princess up." Octavia suggested, oh so innocently.

Elena's cheeks warmed slightly as she recalled how that scene went. It wasn't exactly how she imagined her first kiss would go. However, this was for Octavia and at least it would be with someone she loves and wholeheartedly trusts, so pushed back any negative thoughts and gave O a smile. "Sure," she shoved Bellamy off the bed. "You were in my way." She smirked when he glared at her. She led down and closed her eyes, feeling the familiar wave of sleepiness wash over her. She vaguely wondered what was taking the other twos long, but assumed they just had some 'artistic differences'.

While Elena was ready to roll, Bellamy on the other hand had directed his glare at his sister, pulling her by the arm to the other side of the room. "I know what you're doing, O, so stop it."

"What am I doing, big brother?" Octavia asked, looking up at him with doe eyes.

"I'm not going to kiss her, O."

"What do you mean you're nothing to kiss her?" Octavia replied, raising her voice slightly. Bellamy hushed her as the two glanced over at their friend, who luckily hadn't heard them. Octavia lowered her voice a bit, "you're in love with her, aren't you? I'm giving you the perfect opportunity to win her over with a kiss!" She reasoned with her brother excitedly.

Bellamy rolled his eyes. "You've read too many fairy tales, it doesn't work like that."

"Sure it does!"

"No, it doesn't. Look, I'll just hug her or something." Bellamy sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he glanced back at the girl laying on his bed.

"Hug her?" Octavia practically shrieked, earning her glare from her brother. "No, Bell! You have to kiss her to wake her up, saving her by hugging her is just stupid!"

Bellamy scoffed loudly at that, "Oh because a prince being able to wake a princess, who he's known for 5 minutes, up with 'true love's kiss' isn't at all ridiculous."

"It's not!" Octavia argued heatedly. "Anyway, it's not about the prince and princess' kiss, it's about your kiss with Elena. Kiss her and then she'll realise that she's been in love with you for a long time and then boom! You have a new relationship!"

Bellamy thought his sister had a screw loose. She genuinely thought that is what would happen. Though he couldn't blame her, she'd never had any experience with this kind of thing (thank god), she only knew fairy tales. "What if Elena isn't comfortable with it?"

Octavia looked over at the brunette, who's still waiting patiently for them, and grinned. "She looks pretty willing to me."

Bellamy had no other arguments. "Fine, let's just get this over with." He trudged back over to where Elena was and looked down at her. He knew that Octavia's little fantasy wouldn't happen, but it didn't stop him from having some kind of hope that this would trigger a realisation inside Elena.

"Great," Octavia cheered and handed her brother the book, "here are the lines!"

He sighed and read over the lines, cringing at how ridiculous they were. If any of the other cadets knew he what he was about to do… Placing the book down, he took a seat by Elena's side and leaned over her. Her brought one hand up to stroke her cheek gently as he marvelled at her beauty. "i've never seen-"

He was cut off by Octavia hissing at him. "Put more emotion into it!"

Gritting his teeth, he once again aimed his glare at her, before shaking it off and turning back to Elena. He cleared his throat and tried to ignore the fact that his sister's there, focusing solely on the girl in front of him. Bellamy lifted his hand to her cheek once more. "I've never seen such beauty." Clearly, Octavia was much happier with his performance this time. It got easier to forget about Octavia's watchful gaze as he began leaning down towards Elena, getting close enough so that their noses brushed against one another. "I'll save you from this nightmare." He whispered against her lips, truly wanting nothing more than take her away from the misery that is the Ark to somewhere where she can be truly happy. Bellamy leaned forward just a little more and finally connected their lips, relishing in the warmth and softness of Elena's lips. He pulled away after moment, not wanting to over stay his welcome and sat back up, trying to ignore the heat that rushed to his cheeks.

Octavia barely held back a squeal as they both waited for Elena's reaction. After almost a minute of no movement, Octavia leaned forward and said in a stage whisper, "Elena, that's your cue!"

Bellamy frowned and shook Elena lightly when she wasn't going to respond. "Elena."

Hearing his call, Elena jolted awake and looked around, disorientated. "Huh, what, I'm awake!"

"…Don't tell me…" Octavia started.

"You fell asleep." Bellamy finished.

Elena looked at them both sheepishly. "You were talking for so long and I was tired so…" She shrugged and smiled at them. "Are we ready to go now?"

Bellamy had kissed her and she hadn't even been awake for it. He was done. "O decided to just read the story instead.

"Oh, okay." Elena complied happily, scooting over so that they could sit beside her.

Octavia pouted, "that's not what Octavia decided at all." However, she couldn't blame Bellamy for not wanting to go through the play again. Maybe true love's kiss doesn't work after all…that, or Elena is just too dense.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this one shot, it was just a bit of fun! Season 3 is almost here, so I'll be back to writing actual chapters soon :)**

**~ Chloe**


	41. AN

**Hi guys, not an update so I apologise if I got you all excited, BUT this is about the new season. So season three hasn't actually aired in the UK yet, but it will air on February 17th. I won't be publishing any chapters to do with the third season until it's aired over here. I know you might all think 'why doesn't she watch it online?' but A) I like watching it on TV, bc immersion guys, and B) there may be some people from the UK reading this story who haven't seen the new season yet and are also waiting for it. I don't want to spoil anything for them because I know that I personally take spoilers pretty seriously. So there are a couple of reasons why I won't be updating until it airs in the UK, but, hey, it isn't that far away. Anyways, sorry about this but I feel that it's for the best, hope you guys will still stick around to read the chapters when they come out!**  
**Until then, bye bye :)**  
**~ Chloe**


	42. Wanheda (Part 1)

**It's here and it's epic! Wow, I can already tell it's going to be an amazing season. Just before we start, I want to make a quick disclaimer here: I don't speak/know any Trigedasleng and when I went back and listened to what they said I tried to hazard a guess as to what they were saying and how to spell it. When I looked for any info online I found a site to help me, so it might not be completely accurate, but it's better than what I could come up with on my own, please forgive me ^_^ Also, Trigedasleng is in italics. Without further ado, I present to you Wanheda (Part 1)!**

* * *

She led on her side, staring down at the metal floor beneath her. It was still weird to her - being back on the Ark that is - or rather, being in Arkadia. A gentle kiss was placed on her shoulder as a large, warm hand slipped under the material of the over-sized shirt she wore and settled on her hip, fingers lightly tracing patterns on her skin.

"Hey, did you get any sleep?" His voice was raspy, even deeper than usual due to having just woken up, but it sounded like home to her.

She turned around and nestled herself in his arms. "Some." She answered quietly, reaching up to place a sweet kiss on his lips. "You?"

"Some." He repeated, a brief, half hearted smile flitted across his lips. It wasn't surprising to either of them that they were having trouble sleeping. They'd been through too much to be able to sleep easy. She heaved a sigh and removed herself from his hold, sitting upright and stretching before getting up from the bed. Before she could make any move to get ready for the day, a hand caught her wrist. "Elena?"

Elena turned back, looking down at him with a look of confusion. "What is it, Bell?"

Bellamy gently tugged on her wrist, wanting her to come closer. She knelt down on the bed, leaning over him with a small frown on her face as her long hair spilled over her shoulders, the ends brushing against his bare shoulders and chest. He brought a hand up and brushed some of the hair out of her face, eventually entangling his hand in her soft locks and pulling her face towards his. "I love you."

A beautiful smile appeared on her face and her eyes lit up as she placed her forehead against his and whispered "I love you, too." Their lips meshed together, moving perfectly in sync with one another, while Bellamy dragged his free hand across Elena's exposed thigh and up to her waist, pulling her fully back down onto the bed.

* * *

Grunting, heavy panting and loud smacking noises were all that could be heard from the training room. Elena slipped in discretely, leaning up against the wall with her arms crossed, watching Bellamy and Lincoln fight. Both men were drenched in sweat, suggesting it had been a good fight so far. They looked pretty even at the moment, though Elena suspected that Lincoln would soon gain the upper hand. Lincoln was a trained fighter and Bellamy had a quick temper. She watched on as Bellamy jumped in the air and roundhouse kicked** (a/n: I think that's what he did, that's what it looked like to me, anyways) **Lincoln, knocking him back, before running at him and taking another swing at him. Lincoln dodged the swing, grabbing Bellamy's arms and throwing him over his shoulder. He went to make the final move, but stopped, stood up and looked back at his 'students'. Elena smirked slightly and shook her head at her boyfriend, who was led on the floor, panting like mad. She walked over to him and held a hand out, looking at him with a raised brow and her ever present smirk. He rolled his eyes at her, but gratefully accepted her hand. Once he was on his feet, he pulled Elena into him, who screwed up her nose as he was covered in sweat and pushed him away, making him grin at her and kiss the top of her head. He then went over to his stuff. The others grinned at the exchange between the two and then turned their attention to Lincoln.

"He had me, but he was too aggressive." Lincoln explained.

"Whatever you say." Bellamy quipped, making everyone laugh as he picked up his shirt.

"Quitting so soon?" Lincoln asked when he noticed Bellamy putting his shirt back on, eyes flickering between the couple.

"Mapping run, sector 7." Bellamy informed him. "Harper, let's get this over with." Harper nodded and threw a bag to Lincoln. "Council wants you to have that."

Lincoln opened the bag and pulled out a guard's jacket. "I'm trikru."

"We know, Lincoln," Elena eyed the jacket wearily for a second, before looking back at Lincoln and stepping towards him with a gentle smile, "and trust me, the uniform doesn't change that." Lincoln looked at her, feeling slightly more assured.

Bellamy stepped up beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "This is our home now, Lincoln. We fought for it." He turned to the others, opening up the conversation to everyone. "Too many of our friends died for it. In the ark, the uniform meant something different. Down here, it means what we make it mean together." He turned back to Lincoln and lowered his voice. "My sister will understand that eventually." Bellamy walked back over to his stuff, picking up his own guard's jacket.

"Pair up and fight now." Lincoln instructed the others, who dispersed and prepared themselves for their training.

"O won't take this well," Elena warned Lincoln, glancing down at the jacket again.

"I know." Lincoln answered with a sigh, imagining Octavia's reaction.

"Just make sure they don't pressure you into doing anything, okay?" Elena smiled weakly at her friend, who looked at her knowingly. "Okay?" She repeated.

"Okay." He nodded, pushing out any questions he had about her request and remembering the bigger issue. "Hey, sector 7, that puts you right at the ice nation border."

Elena bit her lip and nodded, slipping her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. "Yes, it does." Bellamy wandered back over to them, just in time to hear Lincoln's warning.

"Just because Azgeda was part of the commander's" Elena's jaw clenched at the name as she crossed her arms across her chest and shifted her gaze away from Lincoln, "coalition, doesn't mean they respect the cease-fire. I should be on that scout." Lincoln was worried about them and felt that things would go smoother if he joined them.

"I wish." Bellamy answered honestly. "We all do, but until the commander agrees to lift the kill order on you, you're more trouble than you're worth." He put it bluntly, knowing that Lincoln would understand, and began walking off. Elena placed her hand on Lincoln's shoulder and whispered a quick 'sorry' before catching up to her boyfriend.

* * *

As they walked towards the chancellor's quarters/council room **(?)**, Bellamy decided to start up a casual conversation about his earlier observations. "I saw the way you looked at the jacket."

Elena felt his eyes on her, but pointedly avoided his gaze. "What about it?"

"You still don't trust the council." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

She stopped walking, making him stop and turn back to face her. She shook her head profusely, "it's not the council - my dad and Abby - that I don't trust, it's Lexa."

He heaved a sigh and brought his hands up to cup her face. "Princess-"

"I know, Bellamy," she wrapped her hands around his wrists, "this truce they've agreed to is better than our people living in fear of grounder attacks, but when I think of Lexa and what she did," Elena swallowed back the lump that had formed in her that and attempted to blink away the tears, "I can't help but wonder whether everything would have been different if she hadn't betrayed us, if _she _would still be here and then I get so mad and I-"

Bellamy could see that she was getting worked up. Elena acted like she was over Clarke's leaving the camp, that, other than being angry about it, she wasn't affected, but she was. He knew that deep down, past all the anger, she was heart-broken. After all, he was, too. He and Clarke did what they did together, he made a point of that and yet she still left. Elena had been best friends with Clarke her entire life, they were practically sisters, but when Elena asked Clarke to stay, she didn't. So yeah, he knew exactly what Elena was feeling, but he knew they had to look forward for their people. "Hey, hey, Elena, I understand," he kept his voice calm and quiet, attempting to soothe her, "but we can't focus on the what ifs. We _need_ this truce to work, so we're just going to have to put aside our personal feelings, especially when we inevitably see the commander again." Using his thumbs to wipe away her fallen tears, he lifted her face slightly so she would look at him rather than the ground.

"What if I can't do that?" She asked, the vulnerability she felt clear in her voice.

"You have to try." She remained silent. "For me, please?" He pleaded with her. She closed her eyes and nodded hesitantly. Bellamy breathed a small sigh of relief and leaned down to kiss her gently. "Thank you."

* * *

Bellamy knocked on the door, where Kane had been working on the map.

Marcus put his finger to his lips, signalling for the two to be quiet, and gestured for them to come in. When they were close enough to hear him, he murmured "this is the first sleep the chancellor's had in two days."

"How's she been?" Elena asked. Her face was free from any traces of her tears, but her father still looked at her with concern. He knew she was handling Clarke's disappearance as well as Abby was, i.e. not well at all.

"She's been keeping busy." Being head doctor and chancellor had kept Abby busy enough to avoid dealing with her problems, Elena was kind of jealous.

"We're going into sector 7." Bellamy spoke up, knowing Elena didn't want her father asking what was wrong with her. "I think we should arm the entire unit."

Marcus nodded, trusting Bellamy's judgement. "Permission granted, but the rules of engagement still apply - nonlethal response."

"Copy that." The two turned to leave, but Marcus called them back.

"Elena, Bellamy, there hasn't been an attack since mount weather. It's 3 months. Our people believe that this is real peace. Try not to screw that up."

Bellamy return Marcus' smile. "Yes, sir." And with that, he grabbed Elena's hand and walked off to meet the rest of their team.

* * *

"Monty, why aren't you ready?" Bellamy asked once he saw Monty leaning on a table, dressed in the appropriate gear for their mission.

Monty froze when he heard Bellamy and turned around to reply, only to find Elena there as well. "I am." He glared at an area across the room. "He's not." Bellamy and Elena frowned, a look of confusion passing between them before they looked over at the piano and found Jasper practically passed out underneath it.

"Not again." Elena breathed out as her eyes fell on Jasper's figure. She made a move towards him, but Bellamy grabbed her arm and pulled her back, earning himself an annoyed look from the brunette.

"What should we do?" Monty inquired.

"We should leave him this time." Bellamy answered.

Elena immediately rejected his idea. "No, we can't just leave him like this. He needs help, Bellamy!"

Monty was quick to back her up. "He's not getting better. Maya's death broke him. He needs this."

Bellamy looked between the two, who didn't seem like they were going to give up anytime soon and eventually gave in. "Take an arm." He muttered to Monty, walking over to Jasper and pulling him up from the ground, along with Monty. "Come on." Jasper grunted as the two walked him down to the car with Elena in tow, propping him up against it.

"Zeke, I said produce first. Art doesn't go bad." A woman's voice sounded out. She looked up and noticed Bellamy, smiling happily at him.

Bellamy returned her smile, clipping Jasper over the head lightly before turning to Monty. "Monty, he's all yours." He walked over to the woman, Gina, and began talking to her.

Monty glanced at Elena, who avoided his gaze, instead focusing her attention on Jasper. "Are you okay with that?"

Elena shrugged lightly. "Okay with what? They're just friends." Jasper's lack of focus began to bother her, making her pat his cheek lightly to try and snap him back to reality. He just grunted in response.

"What's that she's giving him?" Monty's eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to decipher what Gina had given Bellamy.

Elena's brow furrowed as she turned to look at what he was talking about. Bellamy held something in his hand, which he was staring at blankly until Gina snapped him out of it. "Um," she shook her head slightly, trying to get back to the situation at hand, "go get a some cold water, that ought to sober him up a bit." Monty nodded and walked off to do what he was told, while Bellamy returned to the car. Elena walked over to him and her curiosity got the best of her as she peered down at what he held in his hand. "'The Iliad'? Your mom used to read that to you all the time."

"Yeah, I mentioned it to Gina and she found it in Mount Weather." Bellamy brushed it off, not wanting to make a big deal out of it.

Elena was surprised, Bellamy had never really spoken to anyone about his mother, other than herself and O. "You told her about your mother?" She couldn't keep the surprise out of her tone.

"A little, not much." Bellamy answered quickly, not wanting to upset her.

"Wow," she caught his panicked gaze and hurried to reassure him that she was fine, "I'm, uh, glad that you found someone else that you feel comfortable enough with to open up to." Elena flashed a brief smile and quickly turned around to find Monty. She really was happy for him. After all, she had plenty of close friends, it just felt odd hearing that he confided in someone else, is all. Especially when it's a pretty, mature woman who is clearly quite taken with Bellamy.

He reached out and caught her arm, spinning her back round to face him. "Elena-"

Elena cleared her mind of any depressing, negative thoughts and smiled up at her boyfriend, cupping his cheek with one of her hands. "It's okay, Bell. You're entitled to have other friends - that are female - besides, I trust you." Elena stood on the tips of her toes and pressed a light kiss to his lips. "I have to go make sure Monty's got plenty of cold water." She placed another quick kiss on his lips and walked off to find their friend. Bellamy shook his head with a slight grin, relieved that Elena wasn't mad. He placed the book on top of the car and then chucked the bag of guns beside it, creating a loud slam.

"Hey!" A voice protested angrily. Raven slid out from under the car, glaring up at Bellamy. "Take it easy."

Bellamy smirked at her short temper. "Good morning to you, too."

Raven pulled herself up with difficulty, trying to ignore the pain she felt. "She's way too good for you." Raven smirked at back at the former leader.

Bellamy rolled his eyes at her protectiveness over Elena. "I know."

"Good." She chirped with a smug grin. Bellamy began emptying the bag of guns, throwing one to Miller who caught it with ease.

"What's the point if we can't shoot them?" He grumbled, walking around the car to where Jasper was still leaning. Barely.

"We can, just not to kill. That goes for everyone." Bellamy warned. He looked around, noticing one person was missing, unaccounted for. "Where's Octavia?"

Miller shrugged. "We're going outside the wall. You honestly think she'd miss that?" He had a point.

Monty and Elena came back, carrying a large bucket filled with cold water between them. They looked at each other, nodding, and lifted the bucket up, chucking the water all over Jasper, who gasped at the rude awakening. Everyone looked at them, surprised.

"Sorry." Monty apologised bitterly. "Was that too cold?" Jasper gritted his teeth before letting out an angry growl, grabbing Monty's shirt and slamming him against the car.

"Jasper, stop!" Elena cried out, grabbing his arm. He tensed slightly and grew quiet, glaring fiercely at her, but did back away from Monty, instead walking towards the guns. Elena felt a chill travel down her spine from the intensity of his angry glare. However, she ignored it and focused her attention on Monty. She placed her hands on Monty's shoulders, looking over him worriedly. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

He nodded. "Thanks."

Bellamy put a hand on Jasper's chest to stop him from reaching the guns, giving him a protective vest. "No gun for you, not till you're sober."

"Don't want one." Jasper mock saluted him, smacking him on the head and storming over to the front seat of the car. Bellamy gave Elena a frustrated look, who shook her sadly, wishing Jasper would accept their help.

"Let's do this." Bellamy announced, making everyone get into place. Raven climbed into the driver's seat, while Monty and Miller climbed into the back.

Elena waited for Bellamy to reach her first. "Maybe Jasper shouldn't come with us." She whispered to Bellamy, sparing Jasper a concerned glance.

"Look, let's allow this for Monty's sake. We'll just make sure we keep an eye on him." He murmured back, rubbing her arm soothingly.

"He's like a completely different person."

"I know." Bellamy kissed the top of her head and then lightly pushed her towards the back of the car. "Come on." She followed his orders and hopped in the back, sitting opposite Monty.

"Be safe." Gina called out, shooting Bellamy one last smile.

He nodded in return and slid in beside Elena. Glancing around at all of them, he looked at Raven. "Raven, take us out." Miller and Bellamy closed the doors as Raven started the engine and opened the door for them to leave. A horse suddenly appeared in their vision with Octavia riding on it.

"Guess we found her." Miller commented. Bellamy chuckled slightly at his sister.

"Try to keep up." Octavia called out, grinning cheekily at Raven, who returned the teasing grin. As they all rode/drove out of Arkadia, the kids of the Ark began to gather together, watching their heroes leave the camp.

* * *

The ride was silent. Bellamy reached over and intertwined his and Elena's hands, making the girl look up and smile at him. She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder, turning her gaze to Jasper, who sat listening to music with earphones in - earphones that were, from what she heard, once Maya's.

"But the day, after today…" Jasper began singing along.

Everyone looked at him and then shared glances with one another until Monty leaned forward and ripped the earphones out of Jasper's ears and said "no way. If you're gonna ride shotgun, you can't just disappear." He dropped the earphones and patted Jasper's shoulder. Jasper rolled his eyes and decided to plug the music player into the radio, allowing every one to hear the song. Monty went to pull it out, but Elena quickly took hold of his hand and shook her head at him.

"It's okay. It's a long ride." Bellamy told him, sitting back. As the song grew more upbeat, Miller began singing and dancing along, pretending to play the drums. Elena laughed quietly when she noticed his antics and nudged Bellamy, who playfully rolled his eyes at Miller.

"But I look at your pants, and I need a kiss…" Jasper smirked and looked at Raven, who grinned and sang along with the other two.

"Why can't I get just one screw? Why can't I get just one screw? Believe me, I know what to do…" By this point everyone, but Bellamy, who was watching Elena have fun singing, dancing and smiling the smile he had missed with a big grin on his face, and Monty, was singing along. "But something won't let me make love to you…" Miller nudged Monty, singing the line to him with a big smirk.

"Day after day," Elena reached forward and grabbed Monty's hands, shaking him around in time with the beat until he eventually gave into the singing brunette and sang along with a smile. "I get angry, and I will say, that the day is in my sight, when I take a bow to say good night, don't shoot, shoot, shoot that thing at me, don't shoot, shoot, shoot that thing at me," Jasper climbed into the back and lifted himself up, through the sun roof, waving his hands in the air while everyone else watched and laughed, "you know you got my sympathy, but don't shoot, shoot, shoot that thing at me." A sudden beeping noise sounded throughout the car and Raven stopped the music when she saw what it was.

Monty's eyes widened when he looked at the screen and quickly got into the front seat beside Raven. "Tracking beacon from the ark."

Raven stopped the car, while Jasper ducked back down, wondering what all the commotion was about. "Hey, that was the best part." He whined childishly.

"Who is it?" Bellamy asked, leaning into Elena to get a look at the device.

"Farm station." Monty was surprised when he realised that it was his parents' station.

"What? After...after 4 months? How?" Miller asked.

"We'll find out." Bellamy assured his friend before turning back to Monty. "Where are they?"

The doors opened and Octavia appeared at the back of the car. "Don't tell me I missed the party." She joked. No one responded to her, too focused on finding out where the station was located.

"Sector 8." Monty eventually provided them with an answer.

"That's ice nation." Miller stated.

"What about it?" Octavia asked, having missed everything.

"Protocol says we go home, let the chancellor decide what to do next." Raven inputted.

Bellamy shook his head. "Screw protocol."

"He's right," Elena added, looking at Miller and Monty with a small smile, "we're not leaving them behind." They both looked at her gratefully.

Bellamy nodded at his girlfriend's words. "The chancellor's not from farm station. Monty is. So is Miller's boyfriend. It's your call." He told the two of them.

Monty nodded immediately. "Let's do this."

Miller cocked a brow at them. "You have to ask?"

"Try to keep up." Bellamy smirked at his sister, using her own words against her. She narrowed her eyes at her brother and shut the doors.

As they all set off again, they settled back into silence, thinking about whether they would actually find any survivors. Elena leaned back into Bellamy and murmured, "let's just hope this goes smoothly."

* * *

Eventually, they made it to the woods. Everyone jumped out of the car, one having more difficulty than the others, which didn't remain unnoticed by Elena. Octavia hopped off her horse and tied it to a tree.

"These woods must be the border." Bellamy deduced, looking into the woods for any sign of movement.

Jasper looked around, noting the lack of ice under their feet. "So where's all the ice?"

"Much further north." Octavia answered, even though she knew Jasper was joking. "Azgeda stretches for a thousand miles."

"Lincoln's been giving you some geography lessons, huh?" Elena nudged her friend, smiling lightly.

Octavia grinned at Elena, "on top of our language and grounder who's who lessons, yeah."

"Well," Monty piped up, "it's a good thing we only have to go 200 meters." He started speeding ahead, staring only at the screen that told him how close they were to the beacon.

"Monty, make sure you look where you're going. I don't want you to fall and hurt yourself." Elena chided her friend gently, reaching over to lift his chin up with her hand.

Monty grinned childishly at her. "Yes, mom." Elena rolled her eyes as the others all held back grins of their own.

Bellamy cleared his throat, becoming serious once more, and got back to the matter at hand. "Remember, rules of engagement are nonlethal force. Tight formation on my command." He turned back to Raven, who raised a brow at him. "Raven, you stay in the rover."

"Yeah, right." She scoffed in return.

Octavia quickly jumped to her defence. "We need every gun we've got."

Placing a hand on Bellamy's arm, Elena didn't give him any room to protest. "She's right, Raven stays with us." The three girls were certainly a force to be reckoned with when they banded together, so Bellamy decided it would be best to keep quiet.

"They're coming." Monty announced, beginning to walk forward. "120 meters...110." Bellamy held his arm out to prevent his friend from going any further and held his gun up. "They're our people. What are you doing?"

"We hope they're our people." Bellamy corrected, glancing at everyone else. Elena and Octavia had both moved to the front of the group, swords in hand, while the others for their guns ready. "On my command." A horse's neigh could be heard amongst the galloping and there were several shouts that weren't quite loud enough for them to hear what was being said. Finally, three men - grounders - emerged from the woods on pure white horses. The horses were beautiful, Elena thought to herself, Clarke would- no, she wasn't supposed to be thinking about her. Shaking her head clear, Elena focused on the grounders and saw that they had white war paint on their faces. That could only mean one thing…

"Ice nation?" Bellamy was the one to clarify, eyes flickering between the two girls in front of him.

"Yes." Elena answered, not taking her eyes off of the men.

"White war paint." Octavia added. The girls put their swords away and held their hands up, showing they meant no harm. "Stay calm." She murmured to the others.

"_Chon yu bilaik? (Who are you?)"_

"_Skaikru._" Octavia replied calmly. "_Ste lufa osir kru au. (Looking for our people.)_"

"_Ste lufa Wanheda au. (Looking for Wanheda.)_" One of the grounders said to the others, obviously not trusting Octavia.

Elena frowned, confused. "_Wanheda?_" She muttered. Her friends, bar Octavia, all looked to her for an answer. They had no idea what 'Wanheda' meant. Elena caught their looks and realised she should be keeping them up to speed with the conversation."They think we're looking for Wanheda."

"Who's that?" Bellamy asked.

Elena looked back at him, shaking her head and shrugging. "That's what I'd like to know." One of the grounders, who appeared to be the leader, got off his horse and approached them.

Monty saw something dangling down by the grounder's hip. It was a small glowing red light. "The light." He pointed it out to Bellamy quietly. "That's the beacon." Jasper heard him and pushed past the others, making the grounders aim their weapons.

"Hey, get back here." Bellamy called out a demand, that was completely ignored.

"Jasper, what are you…"

"What are you doing?" Monty and Raven exclaimed, watching their friend saunter over to the grounders.

Octavia was the next one to try and stop him, grabbing his arm. "Jasper!"

He pushed her off. "It's okay. I got this."

"No, you don't!" Elena hissed, clutching his arm and yanking him back.

Jasper struggled against her hold for a second, before shoving her off, sending her into Octavia, who caught her. "Stop pretending that you care about me." He spat out angrily before walking towards the grounders.

"He didn't mean it." Octavia whispered.

Elena swallowed nervously, hurt by what he said, and nodded to reassure O that she was fine. "I know."

The closer Jasper got, the more anxious Bellamy became. "Tell them we observe the commander's truce. Do it now."

Octavia speedily obliged, stepping towards the grounders, spilling the words out with a sense of urgency. "_Osir gouba ogonzaun kom Heda in. (We observe the Commander's truce.)_"

The grounders halted their movement until Jasper grabbed the beacon and yanked it away from the grounder. "This belongs to us." He began walking away, but the grounder took hold of the back of his jacket and pulled him back, holding a knife up to his throat.

"_Weron Wanheda kamp raun? (Where's Wanheda?)_" The grounder demanded angrily. Both sides readied their weapons.

"_Breik em au! (Let him go!)_" Bellamy warned, not wanting it to come to them having to kill the grounders and possibly break the truce.

"No!" Octavia yelled at them, desperately trying to diffuse the situation. "_Osir nou get in chon daunde bilaik! (We don't know who that is! We can help each other.)_"

"_Beja, breik em au! (Please, let him go!)_" Elena pleaded along with her friends, worried for Jasper's safety. It was then that Jasper smiled, even having the audacity to breath a small laugh. 'Does he have a death wish?' being the one thought crossing everybody's minds.

"_Yo vout in dison ste leyos? (You think this is funny?)_" The grounder asked through gritted teeth, using his knife to slit the side of Jasper's throat.

"Oh my god," Elena muttered to herself before sending Bellamy a pointed look. "Bellamy."

He was one step ahead of her as he aimed his gun at the grounder and shot him, knocking him to the ground. This started off a round of shots, one being taken at each grounder. Once they all had a bullet in them, Bellamy yelled out "hold your fire!" The shooting ceased, but only one grounder was dead.

"Jasper, get down!" Octavia screamed as she and Elena readied their blades, spinning around to gain momentum and throwing them, taking down the two remaining grounders. Elena's grounder simply fell from his horse to the floor, while Octavia's grounder stumbled a bit, before falling to the floor, dead.

They weren't given even a moment's peace as the radio sounded out. "Rover one, come in. Repeat, rover one, come in now." Elena recognised the voice as her father's as she went to collect her sword.

"What now?" Bellamy growled, already tired of this mission.

"Bellamy, where are you?" Kane asked. Bellamy ran to the car to answer him.

"I had him." Jasper claimed, clutching his neck.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Miller snapped, running to the car.

"We got the beacon, didn't we?" Jasper argued as Octavia and Elena tried to help him up. Octavia slung his arm over her shoulder, but he refused any help from Elena, flinching away from her. Elena sighed at his attitude, but let Octavia deal with it anyway.

"Yeah, but where did they get it?" Monty asked. He wanted to find his parents.

"I don't know, but we'll have to figure it out later." Elena replied, watching Octavia help Jasper walk.

Octavia nodded, agreeing with her best friend. "He needs to get to medical."

"We had to shoot 3 ice nation scouts. Covert, sector 4. Copy. Can you tell me what's going on?" Bellamy spoke into the radio.

"When you get here. Over and out." Was his answer.

"Sector 4? Why is Kane so far outside the wall?" Raven inquired. Nobody ever goes that far from Arkadia.

Bellamy ignored her, barking out an order. "Take him home!"

"I'm fine, thank you for asking." Jasper said sarcastically as everyone but Octavia ignored him.

"Miller!"

"Yeah?" Miller answered immediately.

"Get one of their horses. Raven, since you can't ride, you're on the back. Monty, Elena you're with me. Let's go." Everyone nodded and did what they were told.

* * *

They reached Sector 4 in no time, thanks to the Rover. Hopping out, they all began walking through the tunnel, approaching carefully and quietly.

"You were right about Jasper, okay?" Well, they were at least. Monty had been ready to explode, despite the short car ride. He felt like he was being judged the entire way there, which he wasn't. "Is that what you want me to say?"

"Quiet. Keep your eyes peeled." Bellamy ordered, worried that someone would hear them coming. "I could've said no." He admitted, addressing Monty's question.

"He's getting worse, isn't he? I mean, getting drunk every night is one thing, but smiling with a knife to your throat, that's next-level damaged." Monty looked at Elena, who had been quiet ever since they left Sector 8. "I'm sorry about what he said to you." He sounded genuinely sorry, even though it wasn't his fault.

She looked to him with a faint smile. "You don't have to apologise, Monty. I know he's in a bad place right now. Besides…" She trailed off, looking at the ground sadly.

The other two shared a confused glance, wanting her to continue. "Besides?" Monty prompted her to finish her sentence.

Elena bit her lip for a moment, contemplating her words. "I think," she paused for a second, unsure whether to go on, but they both look intrigued, so she continued, "maybe, when he looks at me…he sees Clarke."

"Clarke?"

She took a deep breath and shrugged. "Well, think about it, he blames her for what happened, but she hasn't been around for him to project any anger onto her. Clarke and I, in many people's minds, are closely connected so-"

Monty caught on to what she was thinking and finished her sentence for her. "He's taking a lot of his anger out on you."

"It's just a theory," she added quickly, not wanting him to take it too seriously, "but I don't mind, as long as it helps him move past Maya."

Bellamy's eyes softened as he looked at his girlfriend. Leave it to Elena to allow someone to take their misplaced anger out on her in the hopes that they'll feel better from it. It's that kind of thing that made him want to gather her up and take her away from everything and everyone to keep her safe. "Elena-"

"What is she doing here?" Elena's voice had hardened as she looked ahead angrily. By this point, they had reached the end of the tunnel and now had a good view of her father and the woman he was walking towards them with.

"Who's he with?" Monty wondered, having never met the woman before. No, she and her people took off before they could meet.

"Indra." Bellamy answered.

"That's Indra?"

"He must've told her we broke the truce."

Before Bellamy could continue, Elena quickened her pace to meet her father halfway. "Why is she here?" She asked her father, watching Indra closely. She still had major trust issues with the grounders.

Bellamy and Monty came up behind her. "Sir, before you say anything, there was a good reason…"

Kane held a hand up to stop Bellamy. "We'll deal with that later." He turned his gaze to his daughter. "This is about Clarke."

Elena's entire body went rigid. It suddenly felt harder to breathe. "Did they find her?"

Marcus placed a hand on her shoulder. "No."

She shook her head at him, not understanding what he was getting at. "Then what? She's disappeared? We already knew that."

"She's being hunted." Indra stated, watching Elena's reaction closely.

"By who?" Monty asked.

"By everyone."

* * *

It was getting dark out and they were travelling to Sector 7 in the Rover. Looking for Clarke. They had to get to her first. Monty drove, Bellamy was rode shotgun and Elena, Marcus and Indra were seated in the back. Elena sat behind Monty, beside her father and opposite Indra's, whose gaze she had been pointedly ignoring the entire time. Elena couldn't forget that name 'Wanheda'. Obviously, 'heda' meant commander, but she could've sworn she had heard the other part before. The car shook and Indra looked alarmed.

"Still getting used to it myself." Marcus mentioned, rather amused.

"Sir, we're almost out of range." Monty informed him. "Are you sure you don't want to tell the chancellor?"

Elena sighed and turned to her father. "Is that such a good idea, Dad? We are looking for daughter."

He nodded at her. "I'm sure. I don't want to worry Abby until we know something."

"We know there's a kill order. You people are big on those." Bellamy commented, rather passive aggressively. Elena understood exactly how he felt.

"It's not a kill order. It's a bounty." Indra amended. "Clarke's a symbol."

It suddenly came to her as she cut Indra off. "_Wan op._" She stared at the woman in front off her as it all unraveled in her mind, unaware of the confused stares she was getting from the men in the car. "It means 'die'. Those ice nation warriors mentioned '_Wanheda_'. So '_Wanheda' _would mean something like 'death commander'."

"I see you've learned the ways of of language." Indra said, with a sliver of approval in her voice. "The commander of death." She reiterated. "Have you figured it out yet, Sky Child?"

Elena's jaw clenched when she realised what Indra was saying. "Clarke is the Commander of Death."

"Yes."

"Those Ice Nation warriors were looking for Clarke. Why?" Bellamy asked.

"My people believe that when you kill someone, you get their power. Kill Wanheda, and you command death."

"She's just one girl." Marcus couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"So was the commander. What Clarke did at mount weather weakened her. The ice nation is emboldened. Their queen wants Clarke's power. If her people believe she has it, she'll break the coalition and start a war. I can't let that happen." Indra explained. Elena leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and buried her head in her hands. How could one girl cause so much trouble. A beeping sound rang out, alerting them that they had arrived in Sector 7.

"Welcome to sector 7." Monty announced. "Where to now?"

"If she's here, she'll need supplies. We'll start at the trading posts."

Marcus took a gun out and offered it to Indra, who looked at it with disgust and shook her head, rejecting his offer. Monty slammed on the breaks, making everyone jolt forward and leaving them all with a dull ache from hitting into various things. Bellamy glanced back at Elena to check that she was alright, feeling satisfied when he only saw her rubbing her arm with a disgruntled look.

"We have to move it." Monty stated, looking at the tree that had fallen across the path.

They began to move, but Indra called out to them. "Wait, it's been cut down."

"You don't know that." Bellamy shook his head at her. He climbed into the back and stood up, watching the tree from the sunroof, aiming his gun at anyone who could have been there. A loud creaking sound came from behind him, startling him. Another tree began falling, making him duck back down into the car. The tree landed with a heavy thud, causing the floor to tremble and shift the car around. Bellamy fell onto Elena, who whined in protest against his weight. Wrapping her arms around, she managed to keep him from completely collapsing to the floor, saving him from more pain and allowing him to catch his balance and kneel down carefully between her legs. She gently cupped his face with her hands and forced him to look at her worried face. He merely nodded at her, still slightly in shock of what just happened.

"We do now." Indra said after everything had stilled.

* * *

**So we're back with a bang! Hope you've enjoyed this chapter, it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on it and what you think may happen in the future ^_^ See you soon~**


	43. Wanheda (Part 2)

**Hey guys **^_^** Sorry for the wait, but life's been a bit hectic recently for reasons that I won't bore you with. I just wanted to say that while updates will be frequent, they will in no way be regular. I don't have a schedule. A lot of you ask when the next chapter is coming out and the answer is always 'I'm not sure' because I'm not always certain when I'll have the time to write. Honestly, right now, I don't have the time to just sit down and write for hours on end because I have more important things to do. Also, please bear in mind that, as of this precise moment, in the UK we are only 2 episodes into the new series, which is why this story will probably seem so behind for some readers outside of the UK. All I ask is that you please be patient with me, because I am writing new chapters, just at an irregular pace. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it!**

* * *

"It's been 3 hours. What are they waiting for?" Bellamy Blake was incredibly agitated. Whoever it was out there clearly had no intention of coming out from their hiding place and making the first move.

Marcus looked outside, but still saw nothing, despite it being light out. "Even with the light, I don't see anyone."

Elena exhaled sharply, rolling her eyes. "Well, I for one am sick of waiting." She needed find Clarke, not wait around for some Grounders to make themselves known or get out of their way. She had been restless the entire time and everyone knew it.

Monty, like his two friends, had grown tired of sitting around and decided to just put the suggestion that they run out there. "I say we make a run for it."

Marcus knew that they were all ready to run and commit an arguably reckless act, but he couldn't allow them to put themselves in harm's way. "No. That's what they want us to do."

That was until Indra, who was without a doubt the wisest to the grounders' tricks, spoke up, agreeing with Monty. "The boy is right. They can wait longer than we can."

Everyone looked expectantly at Marcus, who sighed quietly and nodded his head. "Okay, Bellamy." Bellamy sat a little straighter, eager to get going. "Get in the turret, and you cover us. Once we get to that ridge over there, we'll cover you."

"Copy that." Bellamy zipped his jacket up. "Run fast." He gave Elena's hand a parting squeeze, nodding to assure her he'd be fine. Opening the sunroof, he stood up and aimed his gun at any possible threats. Unfortunately for him, that didn't include the threat behind. An arm was wrapped tightly around his throat. Bellamy gritted his teeth out of annoyance of being deceived and lifted his hands up to show his surrender. "They're here." He announced to the others in the car.

"Everybody out, or the boy dies." A voice, that definitely did not belong to Bellamy, warned them as Bellamy was yanked out of the car.

"Bellamy!" Elena nearly leapt out straight after him, sword at the ready, but Monty pulled her back down.

"Hey, hey! Okay! Okay." Marcus yelled, trying to stop two things: them from hurting Bellamy and his daughter from trying to fight a battle she probably wouldn't win. "We're coming out. Don't hurt him." They all dropped their weapons and Marcus opened the door. He and Monty were yanked out of the car and pinned to the ground. Indra and Elena quickly followed suit, letting out quiet grunts when they were slammed to the ground. Elena looked up and was relieved to find Bellamy unharmed, even if he was in the same less than desirable situation she was in.

"All targets secure." A woman's voice called out.

Elena frowned at this and turned her head to Indra the best she could. "Why aren't they speaking your language?" It was common knowledge that Grounders only spoke English when they had something they wanted Skai kru members to hear. Indra didn't reply because a familiar beeping noise was heard.

"Found it." One of the people had followed a device, which lead them to Monty. Monty's captor yanked him up so the person could take Farm Station's beacon from him. Elena wondered what they could possibly want from that and how they knew how to work a device from the Ark when it hit her. What if they weren't grounders?

"It's mine. Give it back!" Monty fought against them reaching out for the light.

"Monty, let it go." Bellamy yelled, not wanting his friend to get hurt.

"Monty, wait! I don't think they're grounders!" Elena shouted at him. The others she had been with looked at her questionably.

"Monty?" The woman from before whimpered.

Monty's eyes widened as he looked at the woman. "Mom?" She removed her hood and her mask as the man released her son and ran to hug him tightly.

"Farm Station, stand down." A man ordered the others, who didn't immediately let them go.

Marcus was freed and looked up, surprised, when he recognised the voice. "Pike?"

The man in charge, Pike, removed his mask and hood, grinning down at Marcus. "You have no idea how good it is to see you." He said with a laugh, helping his friend up. Elena's eyes widened slightly when she realised the man was in fact her earth skills teacher.

"We didn't think you made it." Marcus grinned, hugging the man.

Pike chuckled and looked out at his group. "Lacroix, Smith, watch our six."

"Yes, sir."

"Everyone else, I said, stand down."

Elena's captor pulled her up carefully, quickly backing away when she glared at him and snatched her arms away from him. She turned her attention back to Bellamy and ran over to him, helping him stand up. "You okay?" She asked, fussing over him.

Bellamy grinned at her, also giving her a once over, before pinching her cheek lightly. "I'm fine, Princess." He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into him and kissing the top of her head, smiling to himself when he felt her relax.

"Where's Dad?" Monty enquired after a minute of trying to pick out his father's face from all the men.

His mother's smile dropped as she looked down at the ground. "Your father didn't make it." Monty couldn't believe it. His father was dead. However, he wanted to be strong for his mom, so he stepped forward and hugged her again.

"How many of you are there?" Marcus asked Pike, curious about how many survived and where they were.

"63. The rest are camped in the mountains north of here, Grounder killers one and all. Am I right?" Pike called out to his group, who cheered in response.

Elena's eyes widened as she met Indra's uncomfortable gaze. She sighed and shook her head, grabbing her boyfriend's hand and pulling him over to her father and Pike. "Dad," Marcus looked at his daughter, waiting for her to continue, but Pike cut her off with a big smile.

"If it isn't little Elena," Elena felt her face flush at the nickname - she wasn't _that_ little - and tried to avoid scowling at her former teacher, "I hope you've been putting your earth skills to good use."

"Kinda hard not to," she attempted to joke weakly.

Pike chuckled and nudged Marcus. "One of my best students, she was." Marcus smiled proudly at his daughter. Pike turned to Bellamy and smirked at him, "Blake."

Bellamy returned his smirk and shook his hand, "it's good to see you, sir."

'Okay, time to get serious,' Elena thought, dropping all traces of her smile. "Look, I don't mean to spoil the good mood here, but we have get moving if we're going to find Clarke."

"Clarke Griffin? What are the two of you doing apart? You were inseparable when you were younger." Pike joked, not understanding the situation.

Elena lowered her eyes to the ground and shrugged dejectedly. "Yeah, well, people change." Bellamy rubbed her back, hoping to offer her some comfort.

"We need to move the tree." Marcus informed Pike, taking the attention off of his daughter, much to her relief.

"Help them."

Monty assured his mother he would be back before helping the other men, including Bellamy, move the tree.

"You okay?" Bellamy asked, worried about how his friend was taking the news about his father.

"I have to be." Monty didn't show much emotion as he answered.

Marcus had replaced Bellamy's arm around Elena, bringing her closer to him as he continued discussing what happened with Pike. "63? Farm Station left orbit with 3 times that number."

Pike locked his cold glare onto Indra's figure. "We landed with that number, too."

Not taking too kindly to the man's look, but managing to hold her tongue, Indra replied coolly. "The Ice Nation can be ruthless. Take pride in the number you saved." Indra wasn't alone in her discomfort, Elena, too, felt weary about Pike's glare. She may not trust Lexa and she may have been angry when she first saw Indra, but she knew that her anger was misplaced. She had once been close to Indra and trusted her, and those feelings hadn't completely vanished.

"Indra, this is Charles Pike. He was a teacher on the Ark." Marcus introduced the two, clapping a hand onto PIke's shoulder. "This is Indra. She's leader of Trikru and a trusted ally." It was his attempt of lessening the tension.

Pike obviously still didn't trust her. "I'll have to take your word for it." His eyes hadn't left Indra.

"Yes, you will." Elena spoke up with an even tone, levelling her gaze with Pike.

"Kane, it's time to go." Bellamy announced once they had finished moving the tree. He walked back over to them, catching on to the tension in the air. He sent Elena a questioning look, but she shied away from his eyes and walked over to stand beside Indra.

"Monty, give them the coordinates to Arkadia." Marcus ordered, looking back to Pike once more. "We have a settlement 50 miles south of here. Your people will be safe there."

"You're my people." Pike grinned.

"Good," Marcus lowered his voice, "because we have reports that put Clarke north of here. We could certainly use your expertise."

"If she's in the Ice Nation, you're gonna need more than that." Monty's mother replied.

"We leave no one behind." Pike declared, turning to talk to one of his men. "Lacroix, take the team. Rendezvous with the others. Get them to Arkadia."

"I'm staying with my son." It wasn't a request, it was a statement.

"Damn right, you are. Mount up. We're going back into hell."

* * *

It took some time, but they eventually reached the trading post. Some sort of commotion could be heard coming from inside. Bellamy quickly stepped in front of Elena, protective instincts kicking in, and took it upon himself to go in first. A large man, a Grounder, was attacking a woman, who was clearly losing despite her struggling. Bellamy didn't hesitate to shoot the man.

Elena pushed past him, avoiding the hand that shootout to pull her back, running over to the woman and kneeling beside her, taking in her blood covered features. She tried to help the woman sit up, but she flinched at Elena's touch. "You're okay now. You're safe." Elena assured her gently, tentatively reaching out to grasp the woman's hand.

Indra walked further into the room, making herself know to the woman, and glanced down at the man. "Bounty hunter." She searched the back of the building, looking for any sign of Clarke. "_Yu hon yu in osir sisplei. (We're here to help.)_"

Once hearing this, the woman relaxed slightly, though she was still confused, and let Elena take her hand. "_Osir ste lufa Wanheda au. (We're looking for Wanheda.)_"

"English." Pike spat, frustrated that he didn't understand what was being said.

Marcus held back a sigh. "Pike, go outside. Take Monty and Hannah. Search the perimeter. Make sure he was alone."

Elena completely ignored what was going on behind her, focusing on the woman in front of her. She hesitated slightly, before adding quietly, "we're looking for Clarke." The woman's eyes lit up with recognition. "You know her, don't you? Please, she's in danger." Elena begged, gripping the woman's hand tighter.

"You're Skaikru?" The woman clarified. Elena nodded eagerly. The woman withdrew her hand and stood up. Elena followed suit. "She was here last night."

Marcus and Bellamy stepped towards them. "Did she say where she was going?"

Shaking her head, the woman replied, "no." Bellamy didn't miss the way Elena's shoulders slumped as she looked disheartened. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. "She was here when I fell asleep and gone when I woke up."

"She give you any indication of where she might go?" Marcus pressed her for more information.

"No...but he did." Everyone perked up at this. "He said that his partner came back for her. He was Ice Nation." She turned to Elena. "I hope you find her."

Elena offered her a smile. "Thank you…" she trailed off, not knowing the woman's name.

"Nilyah." Nilyah returned Elena's smile.

"I'm Elena, Clarke's best friend." She held out her hand to the blonde, who shook it. "We really appreciate your help."

"Good news." Monty called out as he approached them. "I found fresh tracks."

"Great. Start the rover." Bellamy told him, gearing up to leave.

"That's the bad news, too many trees. We have to go on foot." Everyone shared wary glances, knowing that things we're probably just going to get more and more difficult.

* * *

They started their trek, all falling into their own conversations. Monty and his mother spoke about his father and Marcus, Bellamy and Pike spoke about their ally with the Grounders.

Indra fell into step with Elena, glancing down at the sword hooked on Elena's waist. "I see you still fight using a blade."

"I'm more comfortable with it." Elena brushed off the comment, refusing to meet Indra's gaze.

"You still don't trust the commander."

Elena actually looked other this time, sending her a pointed look. "We're out here right now because of what your commander did. If she hadn't have taken the coward's way out, the innocent people in Mount Weather would sill be alive today and all of our people would still have been saved." She tried to keep her tone level, but her weakly hidden anger seeped through easily.

Indra didn't get riled up at the insult thrown at her commander because, not only was she still fond of the sky girl - though she'd never admit it -, but she knew that, while Elena was brave, determined and admirable, she was young and naïve; she let her compassion guide her and her choices, so Indra felt no need to get angry at the brunette. "I believe you are more like _Heda_ than you like to think." Elena shook her head and gritted her teeth angrily. "I'm nothing like Lexa."

"You both put your people first, before anything."

"That's not a fair comparison." Elena refused to believe everything she was hearing. "You're right, I do put my people first, but I would never have taken that deal. Lexa can say all she wants that our victory was not guaranteed, that the deal was a sure win, but you and I both know that there was nothing that the mountain men could've done to beat us."

"Alright then," Indra inclined her head at Elena's argument, "you both fight for what you believe in and you fight like warriors." Before the girl could reply, the sound of war drums filled the air. "Quiet." Indra signalled the others to stop and listen closely. "Listen."

"War drums." Marcus stated, looking around.

"Azgeda." Indra replied.

Monty looked at her with surprise. "You can tell it's Ice Nation from the sound?"

"No, from them." She waved her hand towards three bodies laying on the ground in front of them. Three dead Ice Nation warriors. The sound of the drums were getting closer.

"We need to get those bodies off the field unless you're good with them thinking we did this." Pike told Marcus, who had his gun aimed ready.

Marcus nodded. "Go. Hurry."

"Wait." Bellamy stopped them. "Two people at 12 o'clock." Elena walked over to him, waiting for him to inform them of who it was. He looked through the view finder on his gun and then at his girlfriend. "It's Clarke."

Elena's eyes widened as she began to run the two, only to be held back by her father. "Dad, let go of me!"

"Get out of my way." She heard Bellamy demand and saw that he was being blocked by Pike.

Pike looked at the two of them. "You'll never make it in time."

"He's right. Look." Monty told them, pointing across the field to the marching Ice Nation army. "No way we get across without being seen."

"We should lay low, let the army pass. Then we find Clarke."

"But-" Elena attempted to protest.

"It's the best chance we've got."

Monty looked into the distance and found a good hide out for them. "Guys, there's a cave."

"We just got lucky." Pike commented. "Come on." They all ran over to the bodies and started to pull the towards the cave.

Indra watched they did so. "I can't go with you."

Elena shot up from her crouching position and furrowed her brow at the Grounder woman. "What? Why?"

"Ice Nation has crossed the border. They're marching against my commander. I have to warn her."

Licking her lips and sparing the Ice Nation army another glance, she reluctantly nodded. "Okay, we'll find Clarke.

"You better. The Ice Queen gets her first, she'll be dead, and we'll be at war."

* * *

They had settled in the cave, opting to keep the bodies round the corner - out of sight of mind.

Bellamy paced backhand forth at the front of the cage. "We're losing her."

"Relax. Save your energy." Marcus advised, eyes drifting towards his daughter. Elena was standing near the opening, leaning against the wall, seemingly staring at nothing. She hadn't said a word.

Pike sighed, eyes flickering between the two younger members of their group. "Kane's right, son. The army will move soon. You'll need your strength for what comes next." As they turned back to Monty and Hannah, Bellamy walked over to Elena, gently grabbing her hand and guiding her over to one of the rocks. He sat on top of it and pulled her down so that she was now perched on the rock, between his legs. He leaned forward, resting his head on her shoulder, and pressed a loving kiss against her neck.

"How are we possibly going to catch up to her?" Elena whispered, glancing at the other's who were listening to Pike's recount of Monty's father's death.

"I may have an idea." Bellamy replied, just as quiet, gauging her reaction. She turned to look at him, leaning back slightly to get a better view of his face, a confused frown settled on her pretty face. Bellamy kissed her lips softly. "Do you trust me?" He murmured against them.

Elena closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his. "Always."

He gave her hips a quick squeeze before lightly pushing to stand up, following suit. He looked at the others, but they were too entranced in Pike's story to notice them. Bellamy looked back at Elena and raised his index finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet. "C'mon." He whispered and pulled her round the corner where the bodies were. Glancing over the three bodies, he pulled Elena over to the smallest one. "Take his armour and put it on."

"Why?"

"Because we're going out into a war zone."

* * *

They stood side by side, both incredibly tense. The Grounders were marching in a well organised lay out, one Bellamy and Elena weren't familiar with. Bellamy stuck to Elena's side like glue, that being the one term of agreement he had when he shared his plan with her. They were suddenly stopped by a large man, who glared at Bellamy before turning him to face the right way. As her turned to her, Elena felt her blood run cold. Her faced paled as her breathing got heavier, despite her trying to control it. The armour she had taken was ill-fitting, not so much that it was completely obvious, but enough so that it was noticeably upon closer inspection. She felt herself relax when he merely narrowed his eyes and made her face the same way as Bellamy, before stomping off. Thank god Grounders were used to having female warriors. Bellamy looked back at her, his eyes reflecting her relief, as he cocked his head in the direction they were heading. She nodded and they quickly escaped without being noticed. They looked around the woods silently until Bellamy noticed the blood stained tree. He nudged Elena, making sure that she followed him. They reached a flight of stairs that appeared to lead towards a room. It reminded her of the room they had been in when they first formed the treaty with the Grounders. Shaking the memories out of her head, she pulled the hood and mask off of her head, turning when she heard the sound of a blade being withdrawn. She raised a brow when she saw Bellamy holding the sword he had taken from the Grounder.

"Are you going to okay with that?" She asked, knowing his preference of a gun.

He shrugged. "Not got much choice. I'll go down first." He went down the stairs slowly, scoping out the area, with Elena close behind him. So far so good. They carefully stepped through the threshold and peered into the room. Elena leaned round the bulky stature of her boyfriend and let out a small gasp when she noticed a figure tied up to a pole in the middle of the room. A figure with blonde hair. With no regards to Bellamy's warnings, she ran straight into the room, startling it's occupant. Bellamy bit back a groan at his girlfriend's recklessness, but then realised that he had dragged her out into the middle of a shark's den, so he let her have this one. He ran after her, stopping when he was at her side and stared down at the blonde. Elena's lips trembled at the sight of her best friend, fingers twitching to reach and run her fingers through the knotty golden - and curiously faded red - locks, but didn't want to startle her anymore as she was already shaking like a leaf. They shared a look, before slowly kneeling down in front of her.

* * *

The two figures running into the room had frightened the life out of her. Clarke's eyes quickly snapped over to them and widened when she saw who it was. She couldn't believe it. They were here. They were really here. After 3 months, after she chose to leave them, they were here to save her. Her stomach churned at the sight of them, the anticipation of their reactions to seeing her again after she had walked away building. She still remembered Elena's words, the words that had made her want to turn back and bury herself in the warm embrace of Elena. 'I'll never forgive you.' The words were enough to break Clarke's heart, but she knew she had to leave. It was for the best. She waited for the furious screaming, the looks of hatred, maybe even a slap, but alas none of it came. Instead, the two kneeled down in front of her. She looked to Bellamy first. He hadn't changed much in the time they had been apart. She eyed him closely as he gently pushed a lock of her hair out of her face and removed the gag from her mouth, smiling breathlessly at her. "Bellamy…" She whispered, wondering if this was actually happening. He moved aside, allowing the smaller of the two to slide into Clarke's view. The blonde was terrified of meeting the girl's gaze. Her lips trembled, letting out small gasp when she felt two small, soft hands cup her face gently. Elena had noticed Clarke's reluctance to meet her gaze, boiling it down to her rash parting words, so she took matters into her own hands. Elena leaned forward slowly, placing her forehead against Clarke's. Their eyes finally met and Clarke's widened when she saw no anger or hatred in her sister's eyes, only relief and love. She swallowed thickly before speaking again, "Elena…"

"It's okay," Elena cooed, pulling back and stroking Clarke's cheeks with her thumbs.

Bellamy watched the girls with a fond smile, reaching out and placing a reassuring hand on Clarke's shoulder. "We'll get you out of here." Elena eagerly nodded in agreement. They were about to get up and unbound her hands when a Grounder suddenly came running at them. Bellamy was the first to react, using the blade he had taken from the Ice Nation warrior to protect Elena and Clarke from the Grounder's attack, but he wasn't as skilled with a sword as his opponent was and was quickly overpowered.

Elena lifted her sword up, blocking his attack. She stepped back with one foot, using it to push the grounder's sword back with her entire weight. The Grounder took her completely by surprise when retracted his hand, making her fall towards him with a yelp, which then allowed him to grab a fistful of her hair and drive her head into the wall. She cried out as she felt her head scrape against the wall, no doubt giving her the familiar head wound she hadn't felt in a while. She fell to the floor, head already spinning, making it incredibly difficult to get back up, let alone fight. Black dots started to cloud her vision, but she fought to stay awake. Behind her, the Grounder delivered a swift, hard kick to Bellamy's torso, winding him, and then kicked Bellamy's head. Elena groaned, before turning her head to the side when she felt a presence right beside her. She looked up and saw the Grounder looming over her, while Bellamy was lying on the floor, clutching his stomach, and Clarke watched on with a grief-stricken face.

"Oh, please, please don't." Clarke sobbed hysterically as the Grounder lifted his blade, aiming for Elena's heart. "I'll do anything. I…" She tried to figure out what he'd accept from her. "I'll stop fighting. Just please don't kill them."

The Grounder grunted in response, taking in the fact that Elena was probably about to pass out any second, and chose to spin around and pierce Bellamy's leg with his blade, making the latter groan loudly. "Don't follow us."

Elena was vaguely aware of the quiet shuffling of feet, realising the Grounder must have left with Clarke. Taking a deep breath, she ignored the pain she was in and hauled herself up, crawling over to Bellamy, who was breathing heavily. Her head was pounding, her world spinning, but she had to help him. "I have to-" Her words were slurred, "I have to pull the knife out, Bell."

"Just do it." He muttered between his panting.

Elena wrapped her hands around the hilt of the knife, gripping it as best she could, and yanked it out as quickly as possible. "Sorry!" She apologised when he inhaled sharply. She ripped some of the material of the clothes she was wearing and used to bandage his leg. "I can't do much else for you here, Bellamy. We need to go home."

He didn't respond vocally, instead bracing himself to stand up. He almost toppled over, but Elena caught him and slung his arm over her shoulder. He turned his head, burying his in her hair, pressing a kiss against the top of her head. "Let me go, Princess. You can barely keep yourself upright, let alone both of us."

"I'm fine." She stubbornly replied. She heard him sigh, but he let her help him anyway.

* * *

She really didn't think she was going to last much longer. For the most part, she had been able to help Bellamy limp towards their camp. It had been uncomfortable, but bearable. Now though, Elena felt like she was going to slip into unconsciousness any second. It was a godsend when she saw Monty running over to them, calling out their names.

"They're here. We told you to wait for the army to move." Marcus said, frowning at the two.

Monty took on Bellamy's weight, to which Elena was very grateful for. "What happened?" Elena was aware that Bellamy was speaking, or trying to, but his words blurred together, she couldn't determine what they were. The black spots filled her vision again as the hand she was using to lean against the tree with slipped past the bark and she fell towards the ground.

"Elena!" Someone was shouting, but she couldn't tell who. All she could dow was welcome the darkness that took over her vision. The last thing she felt was arms wrapping around her figure, catching her just before she hit the ground. And then…nothing.


	44. Ye Who Enter Here

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter! It gets a bit angsty for awhile, so, uh, don't hate me, please ^_^ By the way, it is a ridiculous time right now, but I really wanted to get this written for you, so please excuse any grammatical errors! Also, the Trigedasleng, like always, has been looked up online and, therefore, may not be entirely accurate. Enjoy~**

* * *

There were too many sounds blending together to create white noise at first. Slowly, but surely, they all began to differentiate into separate entities. The gentle hum of machines, the light padding of footsteps, the low murmur of voices - familiar voices. A deep voice that brought about a sense of security, a strong and steady voice with brought about reassurance and a higher voice filled with kindness, filling her body with comfort. Her head was sore, a light pounding still present though it had settled and allowed her to focus on things other than her injury. A quiet groan was emitted from her lips as she rolled her head to the side in the direction of the voices. Brown eyes peered through fluttering lids, trying to make out clear images within the blending colours. They suddenly began to blur even more, rushing at her from all directions. She blinked furiously, willing the colours to halt and finally the did.

"Elena?" The first voice - her favourite voice - sounded from her right. A light pressure pressed down on her shoulder and hand, the figure beside her capturing her attention. A thick, curly mop of hair, rich, dark brown eyes and a smattering of freckles.

She couldn't keep the grin from settling on her lips. "Bellamy."

Bellamy heaved a sigh of relief, lifting his hand up to cup Elena's cheek and run his thumb across her bottom lip. "Thank god you're okay." Her smile was short-lived, however, when she recalled how she ended up in the uncomfortable hospital bed. Bellamy began to panic when he saw her lips pull down into a frown and tears fill her eyes.

"Elena, what is it? Does your head hurt?" Abby gently pushed Bellamy aside, taking the girl's face in her hands and examining her head once more.

Two shaking hands reached up to clasp the doctor's wrists as Elena shook her head sharply, sending strands of brown hair flying into her face. Elena flinched slightly at the dull ache she felt due to her actions and regretted them almost immediately. "She was right in front of me." Taking her bottom lip between her teeth, she attempted to conceal the sobs that were building up in her throat. "Abby," she whined quietly, "Clarke was in my grasp."

Abby swallowed noticeably, trying to blink away her own tears. It had been a while since she had seen Elena this broken. "I know," the older woman whispered, running her thumbs across the brunette's cheeks.

"I'm sorry-"

"No," Abby cut her off immediately, "this isn't your fault. There's nothing for you to be sorry about, okay?" And with that, Abby carefully brought Elena's head forward and pressed a firm, comforting kiss to her forehead. She pulled and smiled reassuringly at the girl, who sighed and nodded.

"Bellamy, you should get back to your post, now," Marcus suggested to Bellamy, needing a moment with his daughter.

"But-" The young man began to weakly protest.

"Bell," a soft voice called out, "I'll be fine." Elena stifled her sniffles, glancing down at his injured leg. "I'm sure it will do you some good to walk around."

A sigh escaped his lips as he gave into his girlfriend's will, leaning down to kiss her forehead, "fine, I'll be back later." He turned to the older adults, "call me if something happens." They gave him affirmative nods and watched him leave.

"How long have I been out for?" Elena asked, peering up through her lashes at her father, who stood to her left.

"A couple of days," he replied, carefully carding his fingers through her locks.

She nodded, accompanying it with a quiet 'hmm', and shifted her line of sight to Abby. "Nothing I can't handle, though, right?"

Abby chuckled slightly and smiled at the girl. "Right."

Turning back to her father, Elena's lips quirked up into a faint, knowing smile. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Marcus' mouth parted in surprise but quickly shut again, remembering how perceptive his daughter was. "Lexa has Clarke."

Eyes widened, jaw slackened, body lurched forward was the reaction he received. "What?" She practically screeched. "Why the hell does Lexa have her? How? An Ice Nation member had her!" Marcus ran a hand over his face, allowing his daughter to finish her ranting, while Abby sat by her side, placing a hand on top of Elena's. "Lexa is the one who sent the grounder to get Clarke."

Elena shook her head, brows furrowing from confusion. "An Ice Nation member wouldn't be so quick to take orders from her."

"We don't have all the details yet, but…" Marcus trailed off, unsure whether to tell Elena the plan or not.

"But?" She pressed, looking at her father expectantly.

"We're going to Polis to get Clarke and negotiate a treaty."

"I'm coming, too."

"No," Marcus replied firmly.

"Dad, please, my head will be fine and if not then at least I'll be with Abby, right?" Hopeful eyes turned to Abby, who couldn't help but easily agree. The girls were sisters, Elena should be there with them. "Look, Dad," Elena took one of his hands in both of her's, "I know what Bellamy and I did was stupid and reckless, but you know why I did it! Clarke is my best friend, she's been by my side my entire life, so please, let me come?"

Marcus bit back a groan as he felt his resolve crumbling, his worry over her injuries being overcome by his want for her to be happy. After a quiet moment of contemplating, he finally caved in. "Alright, but you stay near Abby at all times, do you understand me, young lady?"

Elena grinned and threw her arms around his neck, squeezing him tightly. "Thank you, Dad. You're the best." She whispered.

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Please remember that the next time you go against one of my orders." Abby only shook her head at Marcus' inability to deny Elena of what she wanting, smiling warmly at the father-daughter scene.

* * *

A few days passed and Abby had finally given Elena the all clear. Elena couldn't get out of there fast enough. All she wanted to do was go to her room, grab her stuff and go get Clarke. The shared room was empty when she reached it, which didn't surprise her, and she supposed that Bellamy was probably somewhere fretting over her health. She wasn't too worried, though, she'd see him when they all left for Polis. So she continued bustling about the room, packing a bag of necessities.

"What are you doing up?" She jumped in her spot, whirling around to face the intruder. Bellamy stood in front of her with a stern look on his face.

Elena rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's attempt to scold her and beamed at him, buzzing with excitement. "Getting ready to go, of course!" She frowned when she noticed his lack of luggage and cocked her head to one side, doe eyes peering up at him curiously. "Have you already packed your bag?"

Bellamy stared at her, wondering what she was talking about. "Getting ready to go where?"

She shrugged her shoulders and recovered her smile. "To Polis, where else?" When she saw his eyes widen and jaw clench, her smile faltered. "You're not coming?" Elena shook her head, "I just assumed-" She began, but Bellamy cut her off.

"Your Father's letting you go?"

"Of course he is!" She cried, offended by the mere thought of being left behind. A knowing look washed over her face as she realised why he was acting so weird about her going. "Look, Bell, I know you're gonna get all protective on me and worry about my head, but-"

"That's not it," Bellamy interjected angrily, taking a step closer towards her. Taken aback, Elena shrunk away from him, ever so slightly. Why was he so angry? "How the hell is it fair that you're allowed to go and I'm not? We both made a stupid mistake, so why am I the only one being punished?"

"Wait," Elena held a hand up, signalling for him to stop as she took in the information, "who's stopping you from going?"

"Your father."

"No," she shook her head, glancing down at his leg, "he must be worried about your leg, Bell, you took a knife to it," Elena reassured him, turning around to grab her bag and then escape from the room, thus escaping any more confrontation.

Bellamy scoffed, catching her wrist and spinning her back around to face her. "My leg is fine. It's no worse than your head." He kept his steady gaze on her, waiting for whatever lame excuse she would come up with next.

The brunette sighed wearily, "well, what do you want me to do, Bellamy? I'm not going to refuse to go just because you can't come. If it's any consolation, I had to beg for my dad to let me go."

"And Elena gets what she wants, once again." Bellamy looked away from her and muttered under his breath with a bitter, mocking smirk.

Elena flinched at his cold, harsh words. "What's that supposed to mean?" She couldn't fathom why he was being like this. It wasn't her fault that her father wasn't letting him go, so why was he acting like it was.

Bellamy closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, holding back the sigh trying to escape. He knew it wasn't really Elena's fault, but he was frustrated and she was trying to argue her father's case, which was really getting on his last nerve. "Nothing." He replied shortly, looking anywhere in the room but her eyes. "You should get going, I said I'd help Gina out, anyway." Bellamy knew he was dealing a bit of a low blow, mentioning Gina when he knew that his close friendship with her still made Elena slightly uncomfortable, but the flinch he received from Elena made him feel a little better. He knew it was terrible, but it was true.

This time, it was Elena who avoided his gaze, looking down at the ground, gently biting her lip. She hated knowing that he'd rather be with Gina than talking this out with her. "Bell, please," she whimpered, looking up at him through her lashes. "You have to understand that Clarke and I have been through a lot together and I-"

"Oh, and I haven't?" He retorted loudly, feeling the anger and annoyance build up again.

Elena recoiled back at his shout, quickly trying to correct her mistake, "that's not what I meant, I'm just saying-"

But he wouldn't let her get a word in edgeways, "forget about it, Elena." He shouted, balling his fists and moving his gaze away from her tear-filled eyes, pushing back the guilt that had now started to rise within him. He lowered his tone, trying to control himself. "They're going to leave without you if you don't hurry up." Bellamy calmly told her, wanting her to leave before he cracked and ended up apologising profusely.

Elena shook her head indignantly and stared back at him with glassy eyes. "I don't want to leave it like this!"

"Seriously, just forget about it." His tone was final. He glared at her coldly, obviously wanting her to leave already. There was a long moment of silence.

After swallowing the lump in her throat, Elena licked her lips and nodded reluctantly. She picked up her bag and stepped around her boyfriend, walking towards the door. However, once she reached it, she faced Bellamy, who still had his back to her, once more. "We'll talk when I get back, okay?" She waited for a reply but didn't receive one. "I love you." No reply. She felt a sharp pain tug at her heart, "Bellamy…" Her voice was thick with emotion, lips quivering as she waited for him to say it back. But he never did. A stray tear dropped down her face, but she hurriedly wiped it away and turned her back on him, shuffling out of the door.

"Keep your guard up," she paused when she heard him speak and tilted her head back slightly to look at him from the corner of her eye. "Don't trust anyone." Again, she waited for the 'I love you'. Again, it never came.

* * *

"Why are you punishing Bellamy?" Was the greeting Marcus got when his daughter came storming over to them.

Abby frowned when she heard the girl's tone and walked over to the pair to play peacemaker. "Honey, what's wrong?" She lifted a hand to rub Elena's arm comfortingly. Elena's mouth was set in a firm line as she glared angrily at her father, ignoring Abby's inquiry.

"His leg-" Marcus tried to answer, but Elena wasn't having it.

"Is fine. So what's the problem?" She crossed her arms and raised a brow at her father.

He sighed, looking at the camp before redirecting his gaze his daughter. "Bellamy admitted to it being his plan. He did something reckless and I can't have that go unpunished."

"We both did something reckless, Dad. Bellamy didn't make me go. We went because we thought we could save our friend!"

"Then I suppose I should leave you here?"

Elena's eyes widened at this as she shrieked, "no! I'm just saying, it's not fair on Bellamy."

Abby, ever the calm one, squeezed Elena's shoulder gently to grab her attention. "Sweetheart, I think it's best that we leave things as they are for now."

"Abby's right. Now, give me your bag and get in the Rover." Marcus ordered, though he did so softly, and took the bag from his daughter's hands, walking around to the back of the car.

Elena shook her head sadly, blinking away the tears. "You guys don't understand."

"What don't we understand, Elena?" Abby questioned quietly, alarmed when she saw a tear fall down Elena's cheek. She wiped it away with her thumb and caressed Elena's cheek.

"Bellamy got upset when he found out I was going to Polis and we got into a huge fight." Elena choked on her words slightly, allowing Abby to bring the girl into her arms.

Abby sighed into the dark curls, placing a kiss on the crown of Elena's head. "I'm sure everything will work out." She felt the teen's head shake.

"When I told him I loved him, he didn't say it back, Abby." Elena pulled away and glanced up at Abby. "He's really mad and I don't know what to do."

"Well, Honey, for now, all you can do is focus on the task at hand. I know it will be hard, but we really need to stay focused on Polis and Clarke. Can you do that?" Looking down at the ground, Elena nodded. Abby smiled at her, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Thank you."

* * *

During the car ride, Elena ignored any attempts of conversation that were made, choosing to simply stare at her lap the entire time. Abby had filled Marcus in on what happened between Bellamy and his daughter and couldn't help but feel responsible for it. However, he knew better than to bring it up, knowing Elena would likely snap at him, instead, opting to observe her quietly through the rear-view mirror. She looked pale though it was more sick with worry than being anything to do with her injury and he wanted nothing more than to comfort her. He couldn't apologise for anything, Bellamy needed to be punished. The only reason Elena got to go and Bellamy didn't is that Bellamy didn't spend his entire life attached at the hip with Clarke, nor did he have Abby fighting his case. Besides, he recalled Lexa being quite fond of Elena, which could benefit them. He may need to have a word with Bellamy about this argument, though.

Marcus brought the Rover to a stop as he reached the entrance of Polis. Everyone climbed out and took in their surroundings. Tall trees filled to the brim with green foliage, a clear footpath leading to Polis and an aged, dirt covered sign with 'No weapons beyond this point' written on it.

"We're at the Polis city limits. From here, we go on foot. Lexa's guards will be here soon. All guns and radios stay in the truck. Her people will escort us to the summit." Marcus informed everyone once they were out. "Nelson."

"Sir."

"Hill."

"Yes, sir."

"Stay here. Man the radio."

"Yes, sir."

Marcus walked to the back of the car, standing beside Abby and his daughter, looking at an itemise of the guards was holding with disapproval written all over his face. "What is that?"

"It's a med kit." The guard answered, looking confused as to why Marcus seemed annoyed.

"A med kit from Mount Weather, the place where thousands of their people were killed," Marcus spoke as if he was talking to a small child.

"Dad, relax!" Elena snapped, finding her father's attitude unnecessary. "It's just a med kit, for all they know, it's from the Ark."

"It's too risky," Marcus stared at his daughter exasperatedly, before turning back to the man, snatching the medkit, "you can't bring this into Polis."

Abby stepped in, "don't take it out on him. If you're gonna be mad, be mad at me."

"Moving people into Mount Weather puts our entire agenda at risk." Marcus said lowly, "you knew that, and you did it anyway."

"Would you have preferred that I let Nyko die?" Abby rebutted, knowing letting a grounder die would have been worse than opening up a hospital wing.

"Woah, wait, what?" Elena couldn't believe what she just heard. She knew they were sneaking supplies out, but moving people in? This was new information. "Subtly taking supplies and opening the hospital wing is one thing, but actually moving people into Mount Weather? That could get us all killed." She had to agree with her father this time. It was too risky. "Abby, if Lexa finds out about this, I can almost guarantee you that we'll have a war on our hands."

Abby placed her hand on Elena's shoulder. "It's only a few people, Elena." She looked at Marcus, "an exploratory group."

Marcus was somewhat relieved that his daughter actually agreed on something with him. "That's not the point. Now we have to explain, taking attention away from everything else we've been negotiating for - lifting Lincoln's kill order, opening trade routes, getting Clarke back."

"Dad," Elena warned him, seeing Abby's hurt expression.

"I shouldn't have said that. Clarke's not a bargaining chip."

"What if they won't give her back and it's my fault?"

"We won't leave without your daughter." He put a hand on Abby's shoulder, which she covered with her own. "Promise."

Elena linked her arm with Abby's, resting her head on her shoulder, "and I'm not leaving without Clarke this time, even if I have to speak with Lexa myself." Abby let out a small chuckle at Elena's declaration.

* * *

"Incredible," Marcus whispered, staring up at the huge tower before them. Even the miserable Elena was in awe, slowly allowing a smile to brighten her face up as her eyes moved widely around the village, frantically trying to take everything in. The sky was a clear, beautiful shade of blue and everything in the village was perfectly bathed in light from the sun. People were bustling all around, going about their days. The little stalls were manned by lively sellers, encouraging others to buy and sealing business transactions. Well, until they saw the small group of Skaikru, that is, and began gawking awkwardly at them.

"Marcus, they're staring." Abby murmured, moving closer to Marcus, feeling uncomfortable under all of their stares. Elena thought Abby should consider herself lucky, it was Elena who was getting most of the attention. She wasn't sure why, though.

"We're under the Commander's protection. In Polis, only the sentries are armed." Marcus reassured Abby, smiling at the people. He was completely at ease. 'Lucky him' Elena thought bitterly, wishing she felt as comfortable as her father in this situation.

The group continued walking until a small, high pitched voice caught their attention. "_Heda?_" Elena's body stiffened at the sound. She wasn't prepared to face Lexa yet, she thought she still had some time before she would come face to face with the person who betrayed them in their most desperate time of need. Alas, she couldn't spy Lexa anywhere, despite doing a full 360 degree turn. But the voice spoke again, "_Heda?_" Elena frowned when she felt a tug on her sleeve and looked down to find a little girl peeking up at her through her lashes. She was a very pretty little girl, with black ringlets and big, rich brown eyes. There was one problem, though. _Why the hell was she calling Elena 'Heda'_? Even Marcus and Abby were watching the interaction l with puzzled faces. The girl smiled at her when she realised she had Elena's attention. She lifted her small hand up and pointed at Elena, "_Heda?_"

Perplexed by the girl's strange behaviour, Elena looked down to see exactly where she was pointing and noticed that the girl's finger was aimed at the sword, which foursome reason Lexa's men had let her keep, settled on Elena's hip. Finally understanding what she was getting at, Elena crouched down to the girl's height and smiled at her. So this is why everyone was staring at her and why she got to keep her sword with her. "_Sha, disha ste Heda's gon._ (_Yes, this is the Commander's sword _(**A/N:** This actually means weapon, but I couldn't find sword so it will do)_)._" The girl smiled brightly at Elena's use of Trigedasleng and clutched onto her hand, pulling the older girl with her to a stall selling food. Marcus and Abby exchanged grins before following the two girls. The woman at the stall, presumably the girl's mother, finished finish frying some of the food before chopping it up and offering it to Elena, Abby and Marcus.

"_Teik em in._ _(Take it)_." The woman said with a kind smile.

"No, thank you." Abby politely declined, unsure about what exactly was being offered.

The woman was persistent. "_Teik em in. Teik em in._"

Marcus answered instead. "_Ai sou na sad won op, mochof. (I'd love some, thank you)._" The woman handed him the food and he ate it. He gave an appreciative 'hmm', "delicious."

Seeing her father enjoying it so much and noticing the girl pestering her mother about cutting another piece so she could give it to her, Elena grinned and said, "_Ai sou na sad won op, seintaim. (I'd love some, too)._" She gratefully accepted the piece of meat handed to her by the girl, popping in her mouth. Her father was right, it was delicious. When the girl asked her how it was, she nodded eagerly, signalling that it was good.

Marcus ripped the logo off of the sleeve of his jacket, offering it to the woman as a token of appreciation. "_Beja, em laik memon kom osir hou. (Please, it's a symbol of our home)._" The woman refused to accept it athirst, but soon warmed the idea once she heard his explanation and accepted it with a nod.

Elena bit her lip thoughtfully, wanting to give the little girl something. She murmured a quiet 'I know', gaining a questioning glance from Abby. The brunette reached for the braided bracelet that she had made from a few stray strands of leather and untied it. Holding each end, she gestured for the girl to hold out her wrist, which she did, and wrapped it around, securing it.

The girl examined it for a moment before cheering, "_mochof!_" and throwing her arms around Elena's waist. A small bubble of laughter escaped Elena's lips as she returned the hug, meeting the mother's gaze, who nodded to her with a smile. The small girl pulled away from Elena, sending her one last beaming smile and ran over to a group of children a little ways away from them, waving her wrist around.

Marcus chuckled and patted Elena's shoulder, "looks like you've made a friend."

"I guess I have," Elena grinned, letting her father steer her towards another stall.

Abby smiled the two. "You're suited for this." She commented, looking at Marcus. She turned to Elena and looked pointedly at her, "you both are."

A light dusting of pink dusted Elena's cheeks. "I'm only angry with Lexa." She mumbled, staring at some of the items being sold.

"It's amazing," Marcus muttered, capturing their attention. "When I dreamt of the ground, it was empty. But it's not empty now."

"Marcus, you gave this to me," Abby gestured to the Chancellor's pin that was attached to her jacket, "and you asked me to set a good example, but what we're trying to do here is something new, something…something you have a vision for. This should be yours."

Elena grinned, "I agree."

Marcus shook his head. "Not like this. We've been passing the Chancellor's pin since we landed on the ground. This time, it's up to the people."

Grinning at him, Abby announced, "well, then let's hold an election when we get back to Arkadia."

Elena nudged her father, "you've got my vote."

He merely chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Thanks, kid. But, no matter who wears the pin, we're in this together." He reminded them.

"Kane." A voice called out. The trio turned to see Indra smiling at them.

"Hello, my friend." Marcus greeted, shaking her hand.

"Elena, Chancellor Griffin, welcome. I hope you're enjoying the capital."

"I am," Abby replied, "and thank you for ensuring my daughter's safety."

"The Commander did that." Elena rolled her eyes at that. "You can thank her yourself at the summit tonight." Indra finished, before turning to her former second. "I'm surprised you came."

"Well, she fits right in here." Marcus chuckled, patting Elena's shoulder.

"Dad," Elena muttered, shifting around uncomfortably. "I'm only here for Clarke." She told Indra, a defiant look in her eye. Indra had to commend her for her continuous fiery determination though she wished the girl would understand the Commander's actions and train under her once more.

"Speaking of which," Abby cut in, "I would like to see Clarke."

"Soon."

"Abby…" Marcus stopped Abby from arguing.

"See?" Abby smirked, "you are suited for this."

* * *

They had been brought to a fancy room with a beautiful view. Elena stood by the window, admiring said view, while Marcus watched Abby pace up and down.

"The sun is going down. Where's Lexa?" The woman asked impatiently.

"She'll be here soon," Marcus assured her. The men outside of the room suddenly began making a lot of noise and the creak of the door signalled the arrival of the Commander. Or so they thought. "Here we go." In through the doors walked a familiar blonde, still with the curiously red locks. Abby's eyes widened, filling with tears as she hurriedly walked towards Clarke and hugged her tightly. Clarke stood there, unsure of what to do at first, but soon returned the hug. Her eyes locked onto the smaller figure standing behind her mother and she found Elena staring back at her. Abby pulled away, giving Clarke a once over before stepping back. Elena walked forward, lips slowly morphing into a smile as she reached out for her best friend. The two embraced. Clarke clutched desperately at Elena's jacket, remembering how much she had wanted this when she first saw Elena again and relished in the warmth and comfort being emitted from her safe haven.

"Better late than never, huh?" Elena joked weakly about the late rescue.

Clarke laughed slightly and nodded. Her expression soon sobered up, though, when she remembered what little time they had. "I have something to tell you, and we don't have much time."

"Wait a minute," Abby said. "Just let me look at you."

"We'll have plenty of time to catch up once we get back home," Marcus told her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"The Commander's changing the terms of the summit," Clarke explained.

"Is this because of Mount Weather?"

"This is because of the Ice Nation. They want Lexa dead. They want to take over the coalition."

"That's Lexa's concern, not ours," Abby argued.

"No, Abby. If Lexa falls, he Coalition shatters," Marcus began.

"Then we're stuck in a war we can't win." Elena finished, sighing wearily at the mess they were in. Clarke nodded, knowing the feeling. "What are new terms?" She asked hesitantly, dreading to think about what they were.

Clarke knew Elena wouldn't like it, but needs must. "We become the 13th Clan." There was a moment of shocked silence. Marcus began pacing, trying to comprehend what Clarke had told them.

"13th Clan? What does that mean, that we follow Lexa?" Abby inquired.

"Yes," Clarke answered.

"How do we know Lexa won't turn her back on us?" Elena asked, gritting her teeth at the thought of following Lexa's commands.

"We don't. Look, Lena," the old nickname slipped out easily, like falling back into a habit, "I'm not asking you to trust Lexa," Clarke paused, "I'm asking you to trust me. Though, that's probably just as much to ask for…" Clarke trailed off, looking down at the ground, ashamed.

Elena bit back a groan, knowing what she had to do, and grabbed Clarke's hand, making the blonde look at her. "I trust you, Clarkieboo." Clarke rolled her eyes and bit her lip to hold back a smile at the use of her old nickname. "Keep her in check for us."

"Hold on," Abby interrupted, she couldn't let the children rule their people again, it wasn't right, "we came here to negotiate a treaty."

"This is our unity day, Mom. You can be the 13th station, or you can be the 13th Clan."

"Marcus?" Abby looked to him for advice.

"Clarke's right. I've seen the Ice Nation army, and we don't stand a chance against them. We need to do this." He answered.

"So we become the 13th Clan. Then what? What's gonna stop the Ice Nation?"

Clarke was relieved that they agreed to it so easily. She took a moment before answering her mother's final question. "_Wanheda._"

* * *

The hall was crowded, filled with representatives of the 12 clans. Lexa stood in front of her throne, dressed in a beautiful gown, awaiting Clarke's - no, - _Wanheda's_ arrival. The Commander had spared Elena smile and nod, to which the brunette had quickly looked away, avoiding Lexa's gaze. This caused Lexa to frown, slightly disheartened, however, she smiled again when she noticed the sword resting against Elena's hip. It was a small win, but the Commander hoped it was a sign that Elena could grow to trust her again and embrace the Trikru way of life. Clarke finally entered, walking down the aisle to a grounder song sang beautifully by a young woman. She was also dressed in a gown and adorned the typical war paint of a grounder. Clarke swallowed her pride and bowed down in front of Lexa, showing everyone that the great _Wanheda_ respected the Commander. Prince Roan followed suit, encouraging all of the other representatives to bow. Marcus and Abby bowed, as well. And, after catching the look her father gave her, Elena clench her jaw and sunk to the ground, though, she glared at Lexa the entire time.

"Hail, warriors of the 12 Clans," Lexa spoke.

"Hail, Commander of the Blood."

"Rise." Lexa beckoned, looking out over her audience. "We welcome Skaikru to our halls in the spirit of friendship and harmony, and we welcome Clarke kom Skaikru. Legendary _Wanheda_, Mountain Slayer." Once Clarke's part was over, Elena walked over to her, patting her shoulder and giving her a brief smile. "The reason for this summit has changed. We are not here to negotiate a treaty with the Skaikru, but rather to initiate hem into the coalition." A wave of murmurs was emitted by the crowd. "To symbolise this union, he leader of Skaikru must bear our mark."

Marcus looked at Abby, who knew that he was the true leader of their people. "The honour should be yours." She told him.

Marcus smiled and nodded, looking at Lexa, who nodded. "Present your arm." A grounder heated up a metal rod that had a symbol on the end of it and placed it atop of Marcus' arm, brandishing the symbol on it. Marcus let out a grunt of pain. The ceremony was interrupted, however, when the doors suddenly burst open and in came Pike, Bellamy, Octavia and some guards.

"That's it. Go. Go." Pike ordered. Bellamy had his arm wrapped around the neck of a man, holding a gun up to his head.

"Bellamy?" Elena and Clarke spoke at the same time, astonished. What was going on?

"What is the meaning of this?" Titus, Lexa's advisor, asked, stepping in front of the Commander.

"The summit's a trap," Bellamy announced, stepping towards Elena and Clarke. "We need to get you out of here."

Clarke looked at Roan and then Lexa. "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know," Lexa answered, obviously angry.

"It's the Ice Nation," Bellamy declared.

"These allegations are an outrage," The Ice Nation representative, Ivon, spoke. "The Ice Nation never stormed this summit with weapons, breaking our laws. That was the Skaikru."

"We're right about this," Pike said to Abby and Marcus. "The two guards you left behind are dead already. We need to go now."

"How did you come by this information?" Lexa demanded to know.

They looked behind them as if they were looking for something. Or someone. "Where the hell is Echo?" Octavia murmured.

Elena closed her eyes and exhaled harshly. She opened her eyes again and stared directly into Bellamy's eyes. "Echo wouldn't happen to be Ice Nation, would she?" She asked, her tone dangerously low.

Bellamy swallowed nervously and glanced around, desperately trying to find the missing warrior. "What's going on? Where the hell is she?"

"Bellamy, maybe we were wrong about this," Octavia suggested, also looking around for Echo.

"I don't understand."

Marcus walked forward angrily and caught Bellamy's gun. "Stand down." Bellamy reluctantly handed him his gun.

"Bellamy, Bellamy, come in." Raven's voice cried through the radio. Elena instinctively stepped closer to Bellamy at the sound of her friend's upset tone. "The grounders attacked Mount Weather."

"What?" Elena whispered, turning her glare on Lexa, who looked completely lost.

Bellamy watched Elena as he brought the radio to his lips. "What are you talking about?"

"It's gone, it's gone. They're all gone." Raven sobbed, causing Elena to turn back to Bellamy. "Sinclair and I are the only ones left. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." The sounds of Raven's cries filled the room as everyone else began to murmur amongst themselves.

Elena's eyes widened as she shook her head. "This was all one big set up by the Ice Nation." She whispered to Bellamy, who merely stared back at her, unmoving.

"You should have never moved your people back into Mount Weather. The Ice Nation did what Lexa was too weak to do." Ivon turned on Lexa, trying to get the other's on the side of the Ice Nation.

"This is an act of war." Lexa hissed. "Sentries, arrest the Ice Nation delegation, including the prince." Ivon, Roan and a few others were taking away.

Abby faced Marcus, "we need to get home. If they attacked Mount Weather, Arkadia could be next."

He nodded, "I agree."

Lexa walked down the stairs, standing beside Elena and touching her shoulder to get her attention. Elena froze at the contact but ignored it for now. She had bigger things to worry about. "Go. Marshal your forces. We'll avenge the attack together." Lexa declared. 'Wow, she's really going for this.' Elena thought off-handedly.

"I'll escort them." Indra offered, pausing when she walked by Octavia, "I hope you kept up your training. You'll need it." The guards of Skaikru began to follow her.

"Clarke, we need to leave now," Bellamy warned her, but Lexa was quick to argue.

"We need an ambassador from the 13th Clan to stay here in Polis."

"It's not safe here." He sneered at the Commander.

Lexa decided to ignore him and spoke directly to Elena instead, attempting to give her some sort of reassurance, which annoyed Bellamy even more, "Clarke will be safe here under my protection."

When Bellamy went to argue again, Elena stopped him. "Bellamy," she said, capturing his attention, shaking her head when he looked at her.

Clarke took a step closer to the couple. "I have to stay."

"Clarke-" Abby whispered, not wanting her to stay.

"I have to make sure she keeps her word."

"Okay," Elena stated, pressing a kiss to Clarke's cheek as she wrapped her arms around her. "Stay safe and let us know if you need anything."

Clarke returned the hug. "I will, you, too. And thank you. For everything." The two pulled back and shared a smile.

"We must convene the war council immediately." Titus reminded Clarke, gesturing for her to hurry up.

Clarke nodded at him, "I'll be right there." She hugged her mother.

"Be safe," Marcus said, patting her arm.

"You, too." Marcus and Abby then walked out with the others, bar Bellamy and Elena. The latter knew Bellamy would have something else to say, so she waited for him, just in case he did something stupid. Like usual.

Bellamy glared on Clarke, filled with obvious disapproval. "She left us to die on that mountain. She will always put her people first. You should come home to yours." He didn't say it aloud, but it was his last offer of forgiveness.

But Clarke knew what she had to do. "I'm sorry." It was those two words that had Bellamy walking straight out. Clarke sent Elena an apologetic look, but Elena shook her head, telling her not to worry about it, and ran after him.

* * *

Elena rolled her shoulders back and pushed her hair out of her face as she walked to her room. Her father had suggested she get some rest for fear of worsening her injury, said that he'd keep her in the loop, and for once she didn't argue. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep. Of course, the man angrily stomping after her suggested that she would not get her wish. She stepped over the threshold of their room, turning to face Bellamy as he shut the door behind him and then glared at her furiously.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Bellamy growled, approaching her. For every step that he took forward, she took one back until she had nowhere else to go, back against the wall. "I'm trying to get some rest. I think we all need it."

He slammed his palms against the wall either side of her, making her jump. "Don't get smart with me, Elena. Why the hell would you think making us the 13th clan is a good idea?"

She was sick of him talking to her, accusing her like this was all her doing. "It wasn't my idea, Bellamy." She replied, trying to keep her cool. He was just venting. She hoped.

"She left us there to die! She can't be trusted! Have you forgotten that? Did you forget about all the people who died because of her?"

That was it, that was the last straw. "How the hell could I forget something like that, Bellamy?" She screamed, straightening up and meeting his gaze directly, both glaring heatedly one another. "You think I've forgotten about our friends who lost their lives? The innocent people of Mount Weather who died because we had to save ours? Do you really think that I don't see the effects her actions have had on everyone?" It was getting harder to focus on his face due to the tears. It was harder to talk, too, she had to work hard to push back the sobs building up in the back of her throat. "Jasper getting wasted every day because he lost the love of his life? Raven struggling to come to terms with her new disability? You waking up in the middle of the night, plagued by nightmares filled with the people you feel responsible for killing? I see it, Bellamy, and I will never forgive her for that. But what good will come from going against her offer of joining the coalition? She'd be seen as weak, the Ice Nation would gain power and start a war, a war we can't win. More and more of our people will die, is that really what you want? I hate the thought of following Lexa, but I hate the thought of losing anyone else even more." She blinked, allowing her tears to be shed and her vision to be cleared. Now that she could see his face again, she noticed that Bellamy had tears streaming down his face, also. He lowered his head, dropping it onto her shoulder. He turned his head, lips brushing against her neck as he cried, softly murmuring 'I'm sorry' over and over again, hands clutching her waist. Bringing her hands up slowly, she carded her fingers through his hair with one hand and rubbed soothing circles on his back with the other, burying her face in his hair. He had completely broken down in her arms. And that's when she remembered. Ice Nation had blown up Mount Weather. Gina was in Mount Weather. Bellamy had lost yet another person.


	45. Watch the Thrones

**This chapter is intensely dramatic and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm don't know if I'm completely happy with this, so don't feel the need to hold back on your comments if there's anything bothering you about it. Despite that, I hope you all get some enjoyment (and feels) from it ^_^**

* * *

The next morning, he didn't want to get up and face the day. If he could, he would refuse to relinquish his strong hold on the warm body beside him, ignore any demands for him to remove his face from the sweet scented hair he was currently nestled in. But, even though a tragedy occurs, life still goes on. You still have to face the day ahead of you. So with a groan, Bellamy untangled his limbs from his girlfriend's and sat up, stretching his aching muscles. He sighed and looked over to see if he had woken the girl beside him, but her lids did nothing more than flutter slightly before becoming still once more. Bellamy licked his dry lips and carefully laid back down, leaning on one arm. Elena huffed quietly in her sleep, shuffling around until she was led on her back, bringing the arm closest to Bellamy up to rest on the pillow. Her long, dark hair scattered around her, a few strands settling over Bellamy's arm. She looked so serene, Bellamy couldn't help but stare at her. No matter how many times he slept beside her, no matter how many times he would look at her, she always fascinated him. Carefully, he brought his free arm up, reaching out his index finger and gingerly trailed it across her open palm, closely watching the reactions it withdrew from her. The tickling sensation caused her to stir again; brow furrowed, lips turned into a pout as she rolled onto her side, still facing him, and tucked her hand into her stomach for protection. He brought his hand up once more, this time using his digits to faintly trace patterns on the smooth skin of her cheek. He had always viewed her as being delicate, like a china doll that could crack under the slightest pressure. The fear of that happening had always driven him to protect her from everything and anything but how could he protect her from himself? Thinking back to yesterday caused guilt to swirl up inside of him, he had been such a jerk to her; arguing with her and spitting harsh words at her, even though nothing had been her fault. Maybe it was him that she needed protection from the most. Just the thought made him feel sick. He made a promise to himself right then and there to never hurt her again. Never again would he blame her for something she had no control over. No, he would do anything to protect, the cost didn't matter. He couldn't protect Gina, or the other's who came before her, but he could and would protect Elena.

A whine disrupted his thoughts. "Bellamy, stoooop," Elena drawled, brushing his hand off of her face and cuddling into him, stealing his warmth, "I'm trying to sleep."

He smiled faintly, dropping his head to kiss her cheek lovingly. "Sorry, Princess."

Elena, now in a more conscious state, snapped her eyes open at the use of her beloved nickname. She lifted her head up, peeking up at him sheepishly, "you love me again."

Her words broke his heart. He swooped her up into his lap, crushing her against his chest and entangling his fingers in her hair to keep her in place. "I never stopped loving you, Baby. I'm sorry I made you think that."

"I'm sorry about Gina," Elena whispered, nestling her face into his neck when she felt him tense beneath her. "Abby told me they're having a memorial service this morning, you should speak for her." Reaching up, she placed a feathery kiss to his jaw, cupping his face with her hands. "It wasn't your fault, okay?"

Bellamy shook his head, albeit with a bit of difficulty thanks to Elena's hands. "I couldn't protect her."

"No one could have," Elena cooed gently. "No one could have predicted the Ice Nation would do that. It was an act of war, Bell, that's why this coalition is so important, you know that, right?" Bellamy didn't answer, only tightening his hold on her and capturing her lips in a kiss.

* * *

Elena had just reached the medical ward when Abby materialised by her side. "We're having a council meeting and I want you there."

"What? Why?" Elena looked to the Chancellor confused, scrunching her nose up cutely in the process, making Abby smile at her. "I'm not on the council."

"But I'm starting to think that you should be," Abby admitted, continuing when Elena gestured for her to explain, "you have the best relations with both Lexa," she paused, sighing defeatedly, " and Clarke. Not to mention the fact that many of the people in this camp would happily follow and listen to you."

Elena smiled, playfully narrowing her gaze at Abby, "you're not gonna give up on this, are you?"

Leaning towards the girl, Abby grinned, "I'm relentless."

"Fine," throwing her hands up in surrender, Elena admitted defeat, "lead the way."

* * *

"I see she managed to win you over," Marcus commented the minute Elena walked in with Abby, placing a quick kiss on his daughter's forehead.

"I see you were in on this, too," Elena mimicked her father, who gave her a sheepish look.

The council members all huddled around the table looking at various maps and sheets of information.

"Best we can tell," Marcus began, his tone turning solemn, "Mount Weather was destroyed by an internal self-destruct mechanism. It worked as designed. 49 of our citizens were lost."

"So when do we strike back?" Pike asked. He wanted justice for his people.

"We don't," Abby fired back. Pike clearly didn't understand the situation. "The Ice Nation took credit for the attack, and the Commander will bring them to justice."

"So now we're trusting Grounders to punish Grounders?"

Elena interjected, annoyed by Pike's arguing. "Look, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not Lexa's biggest fan either, but she will punish them fairly. She hates the Ice queen just as much as we do, maybe even more."

Pike scoffed at Elena. What could she possibly know? She was just a child. Instead, he turned to someone with more life experience and, in his opinion, common sense: Abby. "No, I'm sorry, Madam Chancellor, but I lost more than half of my remaining people yesterday and 4 times that many since we landed. Now, in my experience, Grounders understand one thing: strength. It's simple. We need to hit them now. We need to hit them hard, leave no survivors."

"Clearly, you don't have much as experience," Elena slammed her hands against the table, leaning towards Pike and fixing her glare on him. His ignorance was making her angrier and angrier by the second. "Because if you did, you'd know that the minute we initiated an attack on the grounders they'd strike back twice as hard with armies bigger than we can imagine! We'd lose in a second, why can't you understand that?" Pike hated to admit it but the girl wasn't quite as incompetent as he first thought. She was putting up one hell of a fight.

Marcus put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back in an attempt to reign in the heated emotions flying around both parties. "There's nothing simple about this, Charles," he spoke calmly, "this attack by the Ice Nation was against Lexa, not us."

"So, are you saying this isn't our fight?" Pike yelled, angered by Marcus' excuses.

"I'm saying we were collateral damage in someone else's war."

"But it's not someone else's war anymore. Look, if we don't defend ourselves, they will take what we have. That's what they do. Mark my words. The Grounders are coming for us."

Marcus nodded, hoping Pike would accept his consideration and leave it at that. "We'll take it under advisement. Meeting adjourned." Everyone left the room, except Abby, Marcus, and Elena.

Abby leaned towards Marcus and smirked. "After the election tomorrow, he's your problem." Rolling his eyes, Marcus nodded and watched as Abby left.

Elena leaned against the table, crossing her arms over her chest. "What a mess."

"You still seem to have a problem holding your tongue," Marcus observed though his tone was one of fondness rather than annoyance.

Shrugging, his daughter lolled her head to the side the look at him, "get it from Mom."

Marcus inclined his head towards her, "that you do." There was a knock at the door, which made them both turn their heads to look at the intruder.

Bellamy stepped in, rather sheepishly, and swallowed nervously. "Sir…" Elena straightened up and listened intently to the conversation about to happen.

"Why aren't you at your post?" Marcus inquired. Bellamy raised his hands, showing the item he had been fiddling with and placed it on the table in front of Marcus. "Don't do this." Elena shook her head slightly, letting out a silent sigh as she stepped forward, placing her hand on Bellamy's shoulder.

Bellamy only spared her a brief glance before turning back to Marcus. "49 of the people I swore to protect died yesterday because I left."

"That's not your fault, Bellamy. Place the blame where it belongs, on the Ice Nation."

"Ice Nation didn't tell Gina to stay there. That was me."

"You did what you thought was right, Bell," Elena insisted gently, lifting her hand up to cup his face and stroke his cheek with her thumb, "no one can blame you for that."

"Elena's right," Marcus assured the young man, seeing the guilt clear in his eyes. He patted Bellamy's shoulder comfortingly, "given the information you had at the time, you made a reasonable choice. You were trying to save lives."

"Our lives," Elena added.

Bellamy looked away for the two of them, clenching his jaw in an attempt to will away the tears that sprung to his eyes. "But I didn't." He sighed heavily and walked out of the room. Elena turned to her father, wordlessly looking back at the door Bellamy had just exited from.

"Go," Marcus ordered quietly, knowing his daughter was needed elsewhere. That was all the instruction she needed.

* * *

"Bellamy!" She called out, running after him. She watched him speed up, trying to escape her, but she wasn't having it. Increasing her pace, she ended up in front of him, meaning he had to stop unless he wanted to collide with her.

Narrowly avoiding contact with her small frame, he looked down at her with a frown. "Elena-"

"You were trying to save me and instead you lost someone you cared about," she avoided his gaze guiltily. All he had wanted to do was protect her and the others.

"It's not your fault," he murmured, bringing his previously clenched hands up to grip her waist. It was times like these - sorrow filled times - when he would reach out to touch her as a form of comfort; something to distract him from the pain he was feeling, knowing he had her safe in his arms.

"And it's not yours, either," her brown eyes finally met his as she allowed him to tug her closer and wiped away any traces of his tears. "No one can blame you for not trusting the grounders, even I still don't have full faith in Lexa, but for now, it's our best option."

"That still doesn't-"

Elena stood on the tips of her toes and lightly kissed his lips, silencing him. "They can't blame you for trusting someone you saved; someone you thought you knew and could trust." Entangling her hands in his hair, she brought his face closer to hers and rested their foreheads together, "you could never have known Ice Nation was planning something like this. You thought that, by telling Gina to stay there, you were protecting her." Bellamy didn't reply. He just closed his eyes and gripped her waist tighter as a silent thank you. "Now, come on," Elena whispered, "let's go and say goodbye to her."

* * *

"All that's certain is that we die." Pike was leading the service for those who lost their lives in Mount Weather. Elena was still on edge around him, being unable to avoid thinking back to the stupid accusations and suggestions he had thrown about earlier that morning, but Bellamy needed her in that moment, so she held back her frustrations and listened quietly and attentively. After all, the people who were killed deserved as decent a send-off they could provide. "How we die is up to us. Who will speak for Iris Jones?"

Miller's boyfriend, Bryan, stood up after some encouragement from Miller and approached the front of the room. "Iris was strong, good with a knife. She saved my life. I'm just sorry I couldn't do the same for her." He looked around the room, meeting the sympathetic eyes of Monty's mother and took out a knife, unsheathing it and placing it on the table with the rest of the items.

"We will miss Iris. May we meet again," Pike concluded.

There was a quiet chant from everyone else. "May we meet again."

"Who will speak for Gina Martin?"

Bellamy looked down at the book in his hand and then up at Elena, who already had her gaze set on him. She squeezed his hand and nodded at him, willing him to be strong and give Gina a proper sendoff. He swallowed heavily, walking to the front of the room. "Gina was real." His voice was husky, a result of all the heavyweight emotions he had been through. "She always saw the light, even here. She deserved better." He put the book down. "May we meet again." The sound of the doors opening and Pike's men and a few guards marching in interrupted the service. All eyes rested on them as they approached Pike.

Elena spied Lincoln trailing behind them and immediately left her seat. "What's going on?" She murmured once she was at his side.

"300 warriors are situated outside the camp," he informed her, avoiding all the gazes that were watching him.

"Oh, that's it? That's fine, then. They're here to protect us," Elena replied, relieved that all the fuss was for nothing.

"I wouldn't be too relieved, yet," he warned. During his stay at the camp, he had learned that, when it came to his people, the people of Arkadia were quick to jump onto any excuse to spit out insults and hold up weapons. When Pike approached her father and Abby, Elena squeezed Lincoln's shoulder assuringly and walked over to them just in time to hear Pike explain what was happening.

"Grounders are here, an army 300 strong camped less than a mile from here."

"We know," Abby calmly replied.

"What?" Pike was shocked, as was Bellamy. The latter turned to his girlfriend, shock increasing when he found that she wasn't surprised in the slightest. It was then he recalled her father calling her over to him as they entered the room the service was being held in and conversed with her quietly. This must have been the topic of their conversation.

"Indra radioed," Marcus stated but this only angered Pike.

"You gave a Grounder one of our radios?" He cried indignantly. This caused a stir of panic throughout the crowd.

"Sir, are we under attack?" Hannah asked worriedly, looking to Pike for answers.

"No," Marcus replied, offering an explanation that he hoped would calm them down, "we are not under attack. The Commander sent a peacekeeping force to ensure that we can defend against any further attacks from the Ice Nation."

"Peacekeeping force? Even you can't be that naive, Marcus," Pike argued.

"Watch your tongue. You're talking to the next chancellor," Abby spat. She turned to the people. "We're all grieving. This has been hard on all of us, but we can't let anger drive our policy."

"Anger is our policy."

"Yeah. You bet." People hollered their agreement.

Pike climbed onto a chair. "Now, if they're here to defend us, as you say, then tell them to go home. We can defend ourselves."

"Right."

"Yeah."

"You," once man shouted, pointing at Lincoln, "you don't belong here. He's one of them." He picked up a rock from the table of items.

"Yeah."

"Go on."

"Get out."

"My boy is dead!" The man screamed, hurling the rock at Lincoln. It hit his head, hard enough to leave a mark, if not a cut. Suddenly, more and more of the crowd began approaching Lincoln, fighting against the guards who tried to quell the situation.

Bellamy ran and joined them, holding a man off. "Back off!" Unfortunately, they weren't enough to prevent some men getting to Lincoln and beating him up. Of course, Lincoln didn't fight back, he just wanted to be accepted and if this helped his cause, then so be it.

Elena shook her head at the chaos, growling quietly under her breath before jumping up on an abandoned chair. Lifting her fingers to her lips, she whistled a deafening whistle that ricocheted off of the walls, making everyone flinch. Once satisfied with the disgruntled looks on their faces, she screamed, "that's enough!" Everyone froze, eyes widened at the scene she had caused, her fiery gaze entrancing them all. "Lincoln's had enough of a presence here in camp to prove that he is not the enemy." She turned to glare at the man who started all of his. "What happened was a tragedy, but it was not his fault. He has done _nothing_ wrong."

"Elena is right. We do not attack our own. Fighting each other only makes us weak," Pike insisted, capturing everyone's attention. Somehow, Elena knew he wasn't going to say something she agreed with. "The enemy is not in this camp. The enemy is out there."

There it was. Before she could lose her temper with him, she hopped off the chair and ran to Lincoln. "Hey, are you okay?" She carefully took his face in her hands and moved his head to the side. The rock had, in fact, cut him and he now had blood gushing down the side of his face. "Oh my god, we need to treat that."

Lincoln denied her, gently prying her hands off his face. "I'm fine." He assured her, quickly evacuating the area. Bellamy came up behind Elena, lightly rubbing her shoulders.

"This is such a mess," she sighed, tired of having to deal with one tragedy after another.

* * *

It was prime time in the mess hall and everyone was bustling about. Many were still gossiping about the morning's events, others were drinking their troubles away, which happened to be Bellamy's choice of activity. Elena knew he needed time alone and reluctantly sat away from him, choosing to sit with Miller and Bryan instead. She held vague conversations with the two that mainly entailed questions and answers about Bryan and Elena's past, as the boy tried to get to know the girl many imagined to be a future leader. Her attention was quite obviously diverted, though, sneaking glances at the melancholy male sat drinking alone.

"So how long have you and Bellamy been together?" Bryan asked, sensing her distraction and attempting to steer the conversation onto a topic that would keep her attention.

She snapped her gaze back to him, surprised at the sudden inquiry about her relationship, feeling a little shy. "Oh, um, about 4 months." **(A/N: I'm guessing they've been on Earth for about 5 months but I'm not too sure so it's just an estimate.)**

"You seem very close," he commented, amused by her sudden shyness.

"Well, he was my best friend for a long time."

"God, it took you long enough to notice his feelings," Nate interjected, rolling his eyes. "I was getting sick of seeing his lovesick puppy routine."

Elena pouted, delivering a swift kick to his shin, making him yelp and clutch it in his hands. "Shut up, Nate!"

Nate scoffed and turned to his boyfriend, "seriously, you should have seen the way he doted on her. It was so obvious, she was just being dense."

"I'm glad you feel so comfortable in our friendship that you can ridicule me," she scowled, narrowing her eyes at her friend, who merely grinned cheekily back at her.

Bryan chuckled at their odd friendship, happy that Nate had developed such relationships while on Earth. He focused his attention back on Elena. "You're worried about him."

"You're observant," she said offhandedly, looking at Bellamy once more. "Bellamy does stupid things when he gets in this kind of state."

"You mean like following a grounder into a field filled with particularly merciless grounders and ending up with a wounded leg and a knocked out girlfriend," Nate smirked at Elena, cocking a brow at her understatement.

"Yes," she replied dryly, glaring at him again, "just like that." She sighed and stared down at her cup. "If the wrong person says something that makes perfect sense to him at the time, he'll follow their every word with the belief that it's for the greater good."

Nate leaned closer to her, "you do realise that you're not going to be able to do anything remotely reckless or dangerous with him on alert like this, right?"

It was Elena's turn to grin as she crossed her arms on top of the table and leaned towards him, "can't control my moves if he can't catch me making them."

"Is he really that protective?" Bryan wondered, thinking they were just over exaggerating.

Nate snorted, "should've seen him when we first got down here."

Elena groaned and buried her head in her arms, "don't remind me." The rest of their conversation moved on to lighter topics, talking about all of the ridiculous moments they had experienced in their early days on Earth - mostly Monty and Jasper's antics - and Elena was able to tune out for a while. Placing her chin in her hand, she glanced around the room, frowning when she looked at Bellamy's table. He had been joined by Pike, who didn't look to be the best when it came to cheering a person up. "Excuse me," she murmured, getting up and approaching the two men. "Bellamy," she said, noticing the way their voices became mere hushes when they saw her approaching. Pike glanced at the girl, relieved that she clearly didn't hear their conversation and quickly excused himself with a nod of acknowledgment. Elena's eyes followed him suspiciously as he left, only sitting in the previously occupied seat when he was out of her sight, blended in with the crowd. "Thought you could with being rescued," she joked, trying some light conversation to decipher what mood Bellamy was in.

"He's not as bad as you think him to be," Bellamy responded, his tone even.

"Really? Because he's been working my last nerve." She bit back, internally slapping herself for nothing able to keep her opinions to herself. Clearly, he wasn't in the mood for her comments.

Bellamy licked his lips and leaned forward on his arms. "Don't you think he has a point?"

Elena's gaze hardened. This was what she was talking about before. The wrong person said something that makes sense in Bellamy's mind and here he is contemplating it. "Doesn't matter, it's the option that will get us killed." Bellamy sighed and stood up. Elena panicked. This wasn't how she wanted things to go. "Wait! Bellamy, don't be mad, sit back down, please!

He smiled briefly at her, "I'm not mad, Princess." The use of her nickname pacified her. "I just have something to do."

"What?" Her brow furrowed as she got up and stood in front of him.

"Nothing for to worry about."

She contemplated questioning him further but conceded. After all, what harm could he possibly cause? He probably just wanted to say one last goodbye to Gina or something, seeing as the peaceful service was ruined this morning. She did, however, grab his hand before he could walk away. "Just promise me you won't do anything stupid."

Bellamy chuckled slightly, cupping her face in his hands and pressing a kiss to her lips. "I promise. I'd never do anything that would put you in danger." She only wished she could believe that.

* * *

To say she was mistaken was the understatement of the year. 'What harm could he possibly cause?', she had thought. And yet, here he was, standing with Pike and the rest of Farm Station covered in protective bulletproof vests and guns, ready to kill some grounders. The minute she saw him standing toe-to-toe with Lincoln, Elena knew Bellamy had done something horribly wrong.

"What are the guns for?" She heard Harper ask Bellamy from her place beside Lincoln, whilst she stared at the gun in his hand apprehensively.

"There's an army out there. We need to hit them before they hit us," Bellamy answered, watching her, Lincoln and Monroe closely.

Upon hearing his reply, Elena was there in a flash. "If you think you're going out there with those guns, you've got another thing coming." All eyes fell on her at the sound of her voice. She joined Lincoln at the front of the small formation he and the two girls had going on, placing her hands on the hilt of her sword, ready to unsheathe it.

Bellamy's steady gaze faltered at the sight of his girlfriend getting ready to point her sword at him. "Elena, come on, be smart."

"I am being smart," she answered, her face and tone portraying no emotion.

"That army was sent to protect us," Lincoln reiterated a fact that had already been mentioned multiple times during the day. He wouldn't let them through. They were blinded by rage and the need for revenge. They may have guns and bigger numbers than them but he was certain he was on the right and was silently grateful to have Elena's support, knowing they'd be more likely to listen to her.

"Do we have a problem?" Pike asked Bellamy.

"No," he answered, not wanting Pike to have to step in. He zoned in on Monroe and Harper, knowing their unwavering loyalty had always been with him. "I have always done what is best for us. I need you to trust that I'm doing that now," he nodded at Monroe, "Monroe." She nodded and moved aside. Bellamy then turned to Harper, "Harper."

Harper looked ready to leave, but Elena's demanding voice cut through the tension filled silence like a knife, "Harper." Her fierce stare was settled on the blonde and Harper suddenly felt compelled to stay in place.

Harper swallowed nervously and took a step closer to Elena, clearly showing whose side she was on. "Sorry, Bellamy." Elena sent Harper a very brief smile, but it was filled with gratitude and reassurance. On the other hand, Bellamy felt slightly betrayed. Yes, usually he and Elena weren't on opposing sides, but he had always thought, whether it was subconsciously or not, that he was the leader they put all their trust and faith into.

Pike saw that this would be tougher than he and Bellamy first thought, thanks to the unexpected but equally influential presence of Elena. She had proven herself to be quite a formidable opponent, so he stepped up to the plate. "You should move aside, Lincoln. You want to prove you're one of us, let us pass."

"He's already proved himself," Elena's sharp voice rang out once again, fiercely defending her friend's honour. What right did Pike have to say something like that? "Do you really understand the consequences that will follow your actions? You catch an army of 300 off guard and kill them with guns, okay, it's doable. But when every single damn nation inevitably responds to the attack, how the hell do you expect to win? You can't. I don't think you realise just how many people they have in total. You. Will. Never. Win." She emphasised every single word of her last sentence, hoping to drill it into their thick skulls. "You'll kill us all. That's why we can't let you go out there."

"She's right," Lincoln spoke up. "Your guns won't last forever and they won't stop attacking. I'm not moving."

The people of Farm Station didn't take kindly to this. The man who started the riot that morning snarled at Lincoln, raising his gun at him. "Get out of the way, Grounder." Elena and Lincoln were quick to respond, pulling out their respective weapons: a sword for Elena and a knife for Lincoln. The latter grabbed the end of the man's gun and spun him around, locking his arm around his neck and holding the knife up to his throat. The crowd all began aiming their guns at them as Elena readied her sword and nodded to Harper to raise her gun.

"Put guns down. Guns down!" Bellamy yelled, trying to calm the situation, stomach churning at the thought of his girlfriend and friends being stuck in a line of fire.

"Do what he says, now," Pike instructed and they all immediately quietened down.

"So much for the good Grounder," Hannah spat out.

Elena rolled her eyes and lifted her blade to the man's throat. "There, Lincoln's not the only one holding a knife to his throat, happy now?" She snapped. Lincoln was just protecting himself but of course, they didn't see it like that because they were too ignorant.

Pike could tell Elena was reaching the end of her tether and didn't quite know what to expect from her, so he thought it best to keep all snide comments from his people at bay, for now. "Quiet, Hannah." He knew Lincoln wanted to prove himself to the people of Arkadia - to fit in and be accepted - so he would be easier to get to. "Whose people are you defending here, Lincoln?"

"Lincoln, put down the knife," Bellamy cautioned, stepping closer to his friend. "No one has to get hurt here."

"You're right. They don't," Elena replied, drawing the blade away from the man and towards Bellamy as he took another step towards them, startling him slightly.

Lincoln didn't relent on his hold. "Can't let you start a war."

"We're already at war," Pike argued, "you can't stop this."

An alarm rang out, someone had finally taken the initiative to call for back up. "All Arkadia security personnel, report to the main gate. All Arkadia security personnel, report to the main gate now."

Octavia came bounding over once she heard something was going down at the main gate, stopping at Elena's side. She whirled around, glaring angrily at her brother, "what's wrong with you?" Guards appeared, surrounding Farm Nation, who aimed their guns at them.

"Calm down, people. Farm Station, guns on the ground, on the ground." Pike shouted. Everyone cleared a walkway, allowing Abby, Marcus, and their team to walk through to the middle.

Elena sighed, relaxing a little and putting her sword away. She turned to Lincoln, "you can let him go now, Linc." She glowered at the man. "He's their problem now." Lincoln released his hold, sending the man stumbling forward. Octavia closed in on him, giving him a once over to check he was unharmed. Elena patted his shoulder, "don't listen to them, okay? They don't know what they're talking about."

Abby marched straight up to Pike, angrily demanding answers. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Pike spat back with equal amounts of bark and bite. "What you didn't have the guts to."

Meanwhile, Marcus quietly asked Bellamy, "did you arm these people?" He got no response. Elena felt sick. She knew Bellamy was angry but she didn't realise just how taken he was with the idea of revenge and war.

"Guards," Abby called out, "take them to lockup, now." She looked at the crowd, which had gathered round to shamelessly witness the scene play out. "Everybody, back to your quarters. It's over."

"Nothing is over," Pike declared and Elena wished someone would just knock him out. "We are surrounded by warriors who want us dead."

"That's enough," Marcus yelled.

"No, it isn't, not even close! Why don't you show us all what you let the Grounders do to you yesterday?" Pike challenged him. "Come on, Kane. I think that the people who are about to vote for you have a right to know."

"We do."

"Show us, Kane."

Marcus rolled up his sleeve and showed everyone his mark. "It's the mark of the Commander's coalition. It means we are the 13th Clan. It means we are in this fight together."

"No," Pike denied, "it's what farmers used to do to their livestock."

"Right before the slaughterhouse!"

"You bet."

"I ain't no Grounder."

"Pike for chancellor!" That shout, in particular, made Elena feel nauseous. There was no way in hell she was following his orders.

"Sir, you should be on the ballot tomorrow."

"That's enough," Abby wanted this to end, feeling the same way Elena did. "Take him away."

"Pike! Pike!" The familiar deep voice unsettled every nerve in Elena's body. She, her father, Abby, Lincoln and Octavia all snapped their gazes to him, absolutely shocked.

The crowd was quick to join in as the offenders were taken away. "Pike! Pike! Pike! Pike! Pike! Pike! Pike! Pike! Pike! Pike! Pike! Pike! Pike! Pike!"

* * *

Elena rushed to follow her father and Abby to the council room. "Dad, Abby, I know he's in lock up but I need to speak to Bellamy alone."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Marcus replied uncertainly. He wasn't sure that putting his feisty daughter, who was in possession of a sword, in a room alone with her stubborn boyfriend, who had most definitely just riled her up, was such a good idea.

She didn't waste time trying to convince her dad, skipping straight to Abby. "Abby, please," she begged, "I have to at least try to speak some sense into that idiot before it's too late."

Abby was to agree with Marcus when she remembered that she had been in Elena's place once with Jake. At the time, she felt like she had to attempt to change Jake's mind, to save him. In her eyes, it was the right thing to do. And as she looked at Elena now, she knew that she was in the same situation. "Okay," Abby yielded, "I'll send a guard to get him. But you only get 5 minutes," she warned. Glancing down a the sword, she added as an afterthought, "and you leave the sword here." Elena would never take a swipe at Bellamy with the actual blade, of course not, but that didn't mean she wouldn't give him a good smack with the cover on it…or the hilt.

* * *

"Blake, she wants to talk," a guard announced, unlocking the door and gesturing for Bellamy to come out. The was no need to mention specifically who wanted to speak with him. He already knew, they all did.

Pike grabbed Bellamy's shoulder, keeping him in place for the moment. "Make her understand. The sooner she's on our side, the fewer problems we'll have in the future." Bellamy accepted the task dutifully and followed the guard to the inquiry room.

* * *

All it took was for the door to be fully closed for Elena to go ballistic at him.

"Are you out of your freaking mind?" She shrieked, rushing forward to slam her palms against his chest. "Wanna tell me what the hell you thought you were doing?"

Bellamy remained calm, simply catching her wrists in his hands. He'd never get anywhere with her if a screaming match ensued. "It's a simple case of kill or be killed, just like it's always been, remember?" For the moment, they were complete opposites. In both state of mind and positions. Fire and ice. She was letting out all of the rage that was burning inside of her - furious, fiery, impulsive, more than ready to slap some sense into him, if necessary. He was carefully calculating every response - cool, calm, collected, willing to say anything to get her on his side.

"We not enemies anymore! They're here to protect us. You promised you wouldn't do anything stupid; anything to put me in danger!"

"I wasn't putting anyone in any danger, Elena. I was protecting this camp. I was protecting _you_."

She had never wanted to slap him so badly in her life. Ripping herself away from him, she paced furiously around the room, as if trying to walk her anger and disbelief off. Bellamy noted the way she haphazardly ran her fingers through her hair, outwardly exhibiting her ever-growing frustration and anxiety. "And what about getting Pike on the ballot, huh?" She finally answered, halting her pacing to glare at him. "You can't really think he'll be a better chancellor than my father? Who, by the way, is trying to make peace so we can actually begin to enjoy our lives again and rebuild our society."

Bellamy scoffed at her distorted view on her father's 'treaty'. "You haven't really bought into the Commander's lies again, have you?"

"Lexa wouldn't have spared a group of her best warriors to protect us if she didn't mean what she said," she paused, taking the time to inhale deeply a couple of times in an attempt to take control of her emotions. Finally, Elena walked towards him, all the fight had seemingly left her system as she peered up at him with pleading eyes. "Come on, Bell," she all but whimpered, "we talked about this-"

He almost caved. Almost. But then she spoke again. "No, you talked. I never agreed with anything you said."

And with that, the fire in her eyes rekindled, the desperate, pleading act completely dropped. "Be smart, Bellamy, don't do this."

"It's the only way I can protect you and everyone else in this camp. Elena, if you'll just listen to Pike-"

"I already have!"

"I mean really listen to him, you'll understand!"

The door opened, interrupting their conversation and taking away any hope Bellamy had for changing her mind. "Time's up." The guard who brought Bellamy in informed them.

Elena averted her gaze from Bellamy's eyes, disappointed that he still remained on Pike's side. "That's fine, I don't have anything else to say to him, anyway." She exited the room quickly, lurching forward, away from Bellamy, when he murmured her name and reached for her hand. She only just made it round the corner and out of their sight when the first tear fell.

* * *

The next morning, she heard the distressing news. Pike was voted Chancellor. She walked beside her father wordlessly as he worked up the nerve to go to lockup and tell Pike the news. They reached the cell, waiting for the guards to unlock the door for them. Bellamy and Pike stood up immediately once they saw who was walking in. While Bellamy attempted to meet Elena's eyes, she purposefully stared at the ground to avoid his.

"Congratulations, Mr. Chancellor," Marcus muttered emotionlessly. The people of Farm Station shared smug looks. Bellamy just nodded at Pike, not needing to make things any worse between him and Elena.

"Where's Abby?" Pike asked.

"Wishes she could be here," he replied with a hint of sarcasm. "The vote wasn't close. Our people are now your responsibility, Charles. I hope you take that seriously," Marcus handed Pike the chancellor's pin.

"Thank you, Marcus," Pike pinned the badge to his shirt and began his reign of terror, "I certainly intend to. For my first official action as Chancellor, I pardon myself and the others." Predictable. "For my second official action, I reject the brand that made us the 13th Clan." Also predictable, not to mention a mistake. "For my third," he paused and looked around at his supporters, "let's finish what we started." Elena clenched her jaw, shaking head. They nodded in agreement.

"Yes, sir."

"Alright."

They began piling out. Bellamy was the last to exit, pausing listen to Marcus' whisper, "it's not too late to choose the right side."

"I already have," Bellamy retaliated. Marcus inclined his head and walked away, leaving Bellamy and Elena alone.

"You're making a huge mistake," Elena stated, still not meeting his gaze.

"You don't have to worry about me, just sit back, keep quiet and let me protect you."

Her head snapped up. "That's not how we work," she sneered, detesting the thought of becoming a good, little, submissive girl who lets him do all the work.

"It is now," Bellamy told her firmly, hoping she'll do as she's told. The look of pure horror she sent him, though, made his expression soften as he reached out to stroke her cheek.

"Don't touch me," she hissed, slapping his hand and backing away from him, "I'm finding it really hard to keep my trust in you, Bellamy."


	46. Hakeldama

**Can you say angst? Because that's what I'm delivering to you today, folks! Well, as usual, comment, like and all that suff if you want to and I hope you enjoy the chapter ^_^**

* * *

She felt sick. Never in a million years did she ever believe that he would do something like this again, not after the trauma brought upon him from the tragedy of Mount Weather. Yet, there he was, walking side by side with Pike, caked in mud and blood with the lethal weapon resting at his side, and suddenly she didn't think she could stomach being anywhere near him in that moment. She felt like she had completely lost him to this new dictator. He had completely slipped through her fingers and, no matter how hard she desperately tried to keep him in her clutches, she couldn't bring him back. Instead, he sunk further and further into the dark abyss of revenge and fury. As if sensing her eyes through the once so strong but now weakening connection they shared, Bellamy looked up to meet her gaze, only to feel his heart sink as she immediately deflected it to escape his own.

"My God, look at them," Abby whispered, not truly believing what she was seeing. Her eyes fell upon Elena, who looked incredibly pale, so much so that Abby actually felt the need to wrap her arms around the girl and let her lean on her.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she turned around in Abby's arms, burying her face into the woman's shoulder. "What has he done?" She sounded weak and broken. Who could blame her? All the innocent lives that had been lost plagued her thoughts, making it seem as though there was a heavyweight weighing down her shoulders. They were here to protect, instead, they were killed. Elena could only imagine how Lincoln was feeling.

"Everybody listen up," the man in charge finally started to deliver the news everyone was waiting to hear. "24 hours ago, you elected me your chancellor. Every action I've taken since and every action I will take will be to achieve one sacred goal: the creation of a self-sustaining, prosperous, and safe Arkadia."

"All right!"

"Yeah."

"This morning on a muddy field, our people paid tribute to those who have been taken from us by sending a message to the Grounders. This land is ours now." Elena shook her head against Abby's shoulder, resulting in Abby stroking her hair comfortingly. Marcus came up behind the two and wrapped his arms around them, kissing the top of Elena's head. "Resist, and you will be met by force. Fight, and you will be greeted by death. Today is a new beginning. Mark it down. Remember it just like the Grounders will remember it."

* * *

The announcement from that morning had left a bitter taste in the mouths of the small group of sane people. Octavia and Elena followed Marcus through the twisting hallways of the Ark, having been summoned by him.

"Is it true you tried to leave camp to see Indra yesterday?" He inquired, directing the question at Octavia.

Octavia scoffed, silently questioning the man's priorities. She looked over at Elena, gauging her sister's reaction in an attempt to figure out how much trouble she was in but the brunette's face remained stoic. Sighing, she turned back to Marcus. "Look, don't you have more important things to worry about than me sneaking out of camp?"

He smirked, a small chuckle slipping past his lips. "As it turns out, that's why you're here." He came to a halt in the middle of one of the hallways and cast his gaze back to the girls. "Indra signalled. She wants to meet. I'd go myself, but Pike's watching everything I do now." He returned the blades that Pike had been so quick to confiscate the moment he became Chancellor back to their rightful owners.

"You want us to go see Indra?" Octavia's eyes widened. She couldn't believe it, Mr. Perfect-Stick-to-the-Rules Council Member wanted to help sneak them out. Of course, she reminded herself, he isn't the same person he once was, none of them were.

"I need you to." He corrected, emphasising the importance of the mission.

"You don't need to tell me twice, it will be good to get away from here for awhile," Elena assured him, quickly formulating a plan in her mind. She would see Indra, for sure, but there were a couple of other people she needed to see, too.

"I'm in, too," Octavia added, just as eager to get out of there - if not more - as Elena was, "but how do we get out? The gate is armed with-" Her doubts about the plan were cut loose when Marcus removed a panel from the wall.

"Crawl space door in 20 feet drops you outside the camp wall. Get out there. You find out what the hell happened. Then you report back here. Can you do that?"

Octavia gave him a knowing look, climbing into the wall. "I was born for this," she smirked before climbing through the space. Elena crawled in after her, turning back when her father called her name.

"I'm putting you in charge. Go to Lexa if you need to," he told her firmly, knowing she was more than hesitant to be in Lexa's.

"Don't worry, Dad," she said soothingly, "we'll figure it out. Besides, we're allies now, or at least I hope we still are, it's time for me to accept that and work with her towards a brighter future." She smiled reassuringly at her father, leaning forward to press a kiss to his cheek. "Please, try and talk to Bellamy. Figure out where he's at in his mind; whether he still has it."

Marcus laughed, slightly bitterly, "I'll do my best but I'm not a Blake whisperer like you."

"Honestly, Dad, right now, neither am I," she breathed out shakily. Feeling the sorrowful gaze on her, she cleared her throat and met her father's eyes. "We'll be back as soon as possible. Love you."

"Back at you, Kiddo."

* * *

The two girls jumped down from the crawl space, keeping their thuds as quiet as possible. Once they had done a quick check for guards, they were off.

"What the hell was he thinking?" Octavia stressed, her walk was more of a march, pace quickened by her seething.

Elena sighed wearily, she didn't need to ask exactly what O was talking about. "He wasn't, clearly."

"He's made mistakes before but this…it's too much, Lena," the youngest Blake frowned, keeping her steady gaze on the ground.

"I asked my father to talk to him. I couldn't get through to him but maybe Dad can," Elena said, her voice hopeful, as she reached out to grab Octavia's hand, squeezing it tightly before dropping it again.

Octavia let out a rather undignified snort, "if _you _can't get through to him, _no-one_ can." Honestly, Elena kinda wished everyone would stop believing that. It placed a lot of pressure on her. Octavia, however, whole-heartedly believed it to be true. Bellamy had never been one to listen to anyone's advice unless Elena had been there to convince him to. They were a pair; they balanced each other out. Elena was the ying to Bellamy's yang, per se.

Elena halted, standing in place. It took a moment for Octavia to even realise she had stopped, let alone actually stop herself. "I feel like I'm losing him, O," Elena confessed in a small, vulnerable voice. "It's like a flip has been switched inside of him and he's no longer listening to reason. All he sees are the grounders being a threat to us and the need to protect us. I don't know what to do." Her hand ran itself through her hair, working through all of the knots that had formed. She began walking again, as though she hadn't just told Octavia all of her troubles, as though she hadn't just told Octavia something truly terrifying. Bellamy was pushing Elena away, not hearing her words anymore. He was too caught up in Pike's world to understand the true consequences of his actions. Elena wasn't going to be able to stop him before he did anymore more damage before he took it any farther. From then on, Octavia couldn't push away the unsettled feeling in her stomach.

* * *

They reached the battlefield. After Elena's confession, conversation had ceased to exist. Flies hovered around them, the annoying hum of their wings the only sound filling the surrounding air. Eyes widened as they took in the horrifying sight before them, hundreds of bodies splayed across the ground. Elena shook her head violently, trying to snap herself out of her stupor. She spied a tent not too far away and concluded that must be where Indra was. Nudging Octavia's side, she cocked her head towards the tent and walked off. Octavia was quick to follow, joining Elena in drawing her sword for good measure. Slowly grabbing the curtain shielding the front of the tent, Elena pulled it to the side and walked in quickly after hearing pain filled grunts.

Crystal blue eyes met her whiskey coloured ones. "Elena? Octavia?" Clarke stood to her full height as soon as she saw her best friend enter the tent, stumbling slightly as she approached her. "Where's Kane?" She clung onto Elena's wrists.

Elena held the blonde's wrists in return, "he sent us." She licked her lips nervously and looked around, locking her eyes onto the familiar aqua gaze of the commander. Lexa held Elena's eyes, though she was slightly startled at the sudden appearance of the brunette.

Taking in the surroundings of the tent, Octavia's eyes lit up when she saw her former mentor. "Indra, thank god." She kneeled beside the woman placing her hand on her shoulder.

"How did this happen?" Lexa questioned sharply, her gaze never leaving Elena, who squeezed Clarke's wrists before letting go.

Correcting her posture, she strode over to Lexa, stopping directly in front of her. "My father lost the election."

Octavia stood up and nodded, adding, "everything's different."

Lexa gritted her teeth. "Your people voted for this?"

"No," Clarke swiftly interjected, expressing her disbelief. "No, I don't believe that."

"What do you know, Clarke?" Octavia hissed at her. "You haven't been here."

"Listen to me. The Grounder army is gonna be here in less than a day. I need to see Bellamy."

"Bellamy was a part of this. He's with Pike. What makes you think he'll help us?"

"He saved Indra's life."

This made Elena whirl around, heart skipping a beat at the thought that all hope may possibly not be lost. "He did?"

Clarke looked at Elena, nodding. She turned to Lexa. "If what Octavia's saying is true, then Pike trusts him. If I can get to him, he can get to Pike."

"You can't just walk through the gates, Clarke," Lexa argued, believing Clarke's plan to be reckless, stupid and a failure right from the get-go. "You've been living with their enemy. If it were me, I'd kill you on the spot." Brutally honest, as always.

"We can get her in," Octavia proposed, knowing Clarke may be on to something. Lexa looked intrigued, resolving to allow it simply because she knew Clarke would do it anyway.

"Wait, before we go," the women all turned to look at Elena, who kept her eyes trained on Lexa once again, "Lexa, may I speak with you alone?"

* * *

To say she was shocked would be an understatement. The last time Elena had been near her, she had kept her distance, glared at her and froze under her touch. So why did Elena want to speak with her now? Lexa was completely baffled. The commander lead Elena to a quiet spot away from the tent and her guards. Her stomach was in knots, not only from the nerves she felt but also the anticipation that was building within her. Perhaps, Elena had forgiven her and was ready to give their unspoken friendship another go. Maybe she had won Elena's trust back. It was then Lexa realised just how much she cared about Elena's opinion of her; how she had let a second Sky girl get under her skin. She couldn't bring herself to silently scold herself, though, as she simply didn't care. Elena and Clarke weren't like other members of Skaikru. In fact, they were just like her: strong, courageous, they knew how to get things done. Why shouldn't she want to be surrounded by people like that? Slyly glancing at Elena from the corner of her eye, Lexa noted how she wasn't the only one who felt nervous. Elena was biting her lip and fiddling with her hair, things that Lexa had soon learned were Elena's telltale signs of nervousness. That piece of information calmed Lexa slightly.

Elena shifted around uncomfortably, bring her arms up to cross them over her chest. "I just need a moment," she stated cautiously, being all too aware of the fact that they were having this conversation onsite of a massacre of Lexa's people, and that said woman was, quite rightly so, probably fuming.

To the girl's surprise, the Commander smiled a small but gentle smile, as though she was happy to see Elena again. "Very well. It's good to see you again," Lexa surprised Elena again. The former wasn't one for niceties, so she must have really meant what she said.

Elena hesitated a little before replying. "You too, I just really needed to talk to you."

"I must admit, I'm relieved to hear you say that," Lexa admitted, maybe even sheepishly so. "If I were to talk about recent events with anyone, I'd prefer it to be you. I'll allow Clarke to go and discuss this with Bellamy but why don't you tell me what happened in more detail?" It was proposed as a question as if she had a choice, but Elena knew better than that. There wasn't any choice about this.

"Like I said, there was an election for chancellor and a man called Pike won over my father. He doesn't agree with us becoming the 13th clan, nor does he trust you or anything given to us by you," Elena swallowed nervously, lowering her gaze to the floor to avoid Lexa's watchful eyes. "So he took nine others and ten guns and murdered the army you sent to protect us while they slept," she explained, feeling more and more disappointed in Bellamy. Explaining it to Lexa and physically seeing the bodies made it sink in that he had actually killed all those people.

Lexa's face remained neutral as she nodded to show her understanding. "So you played no part in this? You had no say - no control - over it?"

As she had been burned, Elena flinched and glared at Lexa defiantly. "_Of course not_. Who do you think I am?" She snapped, offended that Lexa thought that lowly of her.

"That's what I thought," Lexa's smile was back, satisfied with the instantaneous burst of anger she received from Elena at the (false) doubt in her displayed. "And what about you? Do you trust me?" This was just a question tagged on out of curiosity. Though it would hurt, Lexa didn't necessarily mind if Elena admitted to distrusting her. After all, she had given her good enough reason not to. However, she would like it if Elena could find it within herself to forgive Lexa for her past decisions. Lexa had considered Elena to be a close friend before all this, she still did. A close friend she would prefer to keep.

Elena kept quiet, contemplating her response. Lexa watched as the girl in front of hair began fiddling with her hair, opening and closing her mouth numerous times, attempting to find the words to explain her answer. She caught herself getting rather nervous about Elena's answer, wondering what was going on in the brunette's mind. "I think I get it now," Elena finally spoke, capturing the full attention of the commander immediately, "as a leader - no, just as someone just trying to make a difference - sometimes, you have to make choices that not everyone will like and support, you have to go against the ones you care about." Hope fluttered in her stomach like a whirlwind of butterflies. Had Elena finally come to understand why she had to do what she did? "I'm not saying I've completely moved past what happened in Mount Weather," Lexa's hope vanished like it had never been there, "but I get it, now - why you made the choice that you did, that is." Elena felt as though she had something in common with Lexa, now. Currently, she and Bellamy were on opposite sides and at this rate, they wouldn't be on the same side again anytime soon. She knew she would be making some tough choices in the near future, choices Bellamy would not agree with, so she finally understood how Lexa felt when she made her choice.

Lexa's posture straightened once she heard Elena's full answer, a true smile lighting up her face. "I truly am sorry for betraying your trust, Elena. That day, I felt as though I had lost a close friend and I hope to one day earn back that trust-"

"You already have," Elena interrupted her, heart warmed by Lexa's confession.

The commander's smile faltered, confused by what she just heard. "What?"

"You already have my trust, Lexa, you've proved just how serious you are about making this work. My people killed 300 of your people, and yet, you are still sending Clarke to figure out what really happened and try and fix it." Elena stepped forward and held out a hand for Lexa to shake. Grounder style, of course. "I'm grateful to you for that, I really am."

"You will make a fine leader, Elena," Lexa grinned, clutching Elena's wrist. "I'm sure your people will soon realise who should really be in power."

Elena laughed lightly, "thanks. I may not become a leader but I at least hope to possess enough power to make a difference and protect my people, just as you do."

Lexa felt touched. She was happy to be given a second chance. "Thank you for coming to see me." She dropped Elena's wrist and stepped back, bidding the girl one last smile.

"Thank you for allowing it," Elena nodded, turning to leave but hesitating as she began to walk away. She shook her head and turned back to Lexa, wrapping her arms around the commander, startling the latter slightly. Lexa blinked owlishly a few times but quickly brought her arms up to return the hug, resting her cheek against Elena's shoulder. After a moment or two, Elena pulled back, a bright smile lighting up her face.

Lexa mimicked the smile. "I hope to see you again soon, Elena kom Skaikru."

"You, too, _Heda_."

* * *

"Is everything okay? With you and Lexa, I mean," Clarke asked her sister as they headed back to Arkadia. She was curious as to why Elena would request an audience alone with Lexa. Octavia was a little front of them, eager to get back to Arkadia and work things out.

Elena gave her a brief smile to calm the blonde's worries before moving her head backs that she was focused on what's in front of her. "Yeah, for now. It won't be if we can't figure out what to do about Pike's reign of terror." Clarke bit her lip, looking off to the side. She was debating on whether or not to ask the most prominent question in her mind. "You can ask," Elena muttered, sensing her friend's uneasiness.

"Are you and Bellamy okay?"

"No," she answered simply. She was pissed, disappointed and hurt all at the same time. Pissed that he did something so stupid; disappointed that he had grown to be reckless and vengeful; hurt that he wouldn't listen to her, that he pushed her to the side as though her opinion didn't matter. "No, we're not, not at all." Clarke half expected tears to appear but Elena's face remained blank, completely void of emotion. "I keep thinking if he stopped now, if he got a reality check right now and started acting like Bellamy again, I could forgive him and move past this. That we'd be fine but he wouldn't listen to me, Clarke." She looked at Clarke again. "He chanted Pike's name, voted for him to be chancellor. I don't think I can get through to him this time."

Sighing, Clarke linked her hand with Elena's, "then we'll try together." Elena spared her another weak smile, though, in the back of her mind, she still doubted it would work.

* * *

With Clarke hidden away in a room, Octavia and Elena went searching for Bellamy, only to witness the grounders, who had previously been in medical, being escorted (more like forced) into lockup.

"What the hell is going on?" Elena murmured, her eyes frantically searching for someone she knew to tell her what was happening.

"Lincoln! Lincoln!" Octavia suddenly screamed from her side, lurching forward.

"Octavia, wait!" Elena immediately followed her but before they could both reach him, they were caught by guards. Elena was rather roughly handled, having someone's arms forcefully wrapped around her to keep her in place, picking her up and spinning her away from Lincoln overtime she tried to escape. She looked over to find Octavia in a very similar predicament. She growled, turning around and smacking the guard's chest, "what the hell?!" Looking up, her warm brown eyes clashed with a very familiar pair of deep brown eyes, eyes that made her still. "Bellamy, what…?" She trailed off, the unspoken question lingering in the air. She was vaguely aware of Octavia calling out Lincoln's name again and him telling her not to fight it.

Bellamy manoeuvred Elena so that she was pressed against the wall before grabbing hold of his sister's wrist and yanking her towards them, away from the guard. "We're interning the Grounders. Lincoln's here because of a disturbance in Sick Bay."

The girls couldn't believe what they were hearing, both turning to look at those who had been locked up. Octavia's lips curled up into a snarl and she moved her biting glare to Bellamy. "What's happening to you?"

"Octavia…"

"We saw what you and Pike did to Lexa's army. Bellamy, you killed everyone," she shouted.

"Keep your voice down," Bellamy warned in a low voice.

"What's wrong? You're not proud of massacring an army that was here to help us?"

"We're not doing this here."

"Good. Then let's go because I'm not even close to done," and with that, she started walking away. Elena brushed off the hand that rested on her hip and followed after Octavia, glancing back to make sure that Bellamy was following. She made sure to avoid his touch, not wanting to even talk to him right now, let alone have him touch her.

"You both need to be careful," Bellamy cautioned, giving up on his attempts to grab one of them. "If you keep this up, I won't be able to protect you."

"Thanks for the warning," his sister spat.

"I'm serious. Look at yourself, O. It is time to stop playing Grounder before you get yourself hurt."

They reached the room and Octavia pulled the door open as she glared at her brother again. "I'm not playing anything. This is who I am. You're my brother. I shouldn't have to tell you that." Bellamy followed the girls into the room, stopping short when he noticed the blonde stood in front of him. O exhaled loudly, nodding her head, "now I'm done." She began walking out, stopping in front of Elena, silently inquiring whether she would follow. Elena shook her head, signalling that she would remain with them, not wanting things to get out of hand. The youngest girl shrugged and closed the door behind her, leaving the trio in an awkward silence.

"Go easy on Octavia. I had to beg her to get me into camp," Clarke lied, hoping it would lighten Octavia's future lecture.

"What are you doing here, Clarke?" Bellamy wasn't in the mood for small talk. Elena figured they would be there for a while, so she sauntered over to a table and sat atop of it, placing herself in between the two other people in the room.

"We need to talk.'

"Oh," Bellamy scoffed, "you've decided that, the mighty Wanheda who chose the Grounders over her own people, who turned her back on us when we came to rescue you. Now you want to talk."

"Hey," Elena cut in, protective instincts kicking in, "she didn't turn her back on us."

"Elena," Clarke called out, "it's okay." Once she was satisfied by seeing Elena settle down, she turned back to her main focus.

"I came here to tell you that the Ice Nation has paid a price. Justice has been served for the attack on Mount Weather. I came here to tell you it's over."

"There it is again," Bellamy's tone was mocking. As far as he was concerned, Clarke had no right to act like she's in charge and declare anything. "Why do you get to decide it's over?"

"We did our part."

"We?"

"Lexa and I. The Ice Queen is dead. The problem was solved, and then you let Pike ruin everything," she accused him. By this point, Elena found herself leaning forward, anticipating the ending of this conversation more and more by the second. Unfortunately, it didn't look like Clarke was winning.

Bellamy was getting more and more impatient, too. He wanted Clarke to get to the point, to tell him her true intention for being there. He didn't need Elena listening to any more of Clarke's words either, knowing that they would only make her more inclined to commit dangerous acts that would land her in trouble. "Why are you here, Clarke?"

"Arkadia needs to make things right, or Lexa and the twelve clans will wipe us out," Clarke finally gave in, getting to the bottom line.

"Let her try," he challenged her.

Elena hopped down from where she was perched and walked over to her boyfriend, looking up at him with what could only be described as disbelief. "You can't seriously still think we'd win against an army that big?"

Although she was disagreeing with what he thought, Bellamy believed that Elena talking to him was a good sign, that there was a chance for him to convince her that they would be fine. "Of course I do, Elena," he took one of her hands in his own, gently stroking his thumb across the back of her hand. "We beat them with only ten guns before-"

"Yeah," she spoke over him, tearing her hand away from his, "like they'd be so naive to fall for the same trick!" She stepped away from him, opting to go and lean against the wall behind Clarke. Bellamy sighed in annoyance at her stubbornness.

"Please tell me that going to war is not what you want," Clarke begged, not believing the words she heard leave his lips.

"We've been at war since we landed," he reminded her, "at least Pike understands that."

"Pike knows nothing, Bellamy," Elena remarked bitterly.

"Pike is the problem," Clarke added, "this isn't who you are."

Bellamy shook his head, "you're wrong. This is who I've always been, and I let you and Elena and Octavia and Kane convince me that we could trust these people when they have shown over and over who they are, and I won't let anyone else die for that mistake."

"Bellamy, I need you, and we don't have much time."

"You need me?"

"Yes," Clarke's voice became stronger as she became more determined to make him understand, "I do. I need the guy who wouldn't let me pull that lever in Mount Weather by myself."

"You left me!" Bellamy growled angrily. "You left everyone," he reiterated.

"Bellamy…"

"Enough, Clarke," he finally snapped, "you are not in charge here, and that's a good thing because people die when you're in charge. You were willing to let a bomb drop on my sister and my girlfriend - your best friend." Elena's gaze dropped to the ground as he reminded her of that. She had already got over it but it still stung to hear it. "Then you made a deal with Lexa, who left us in Mount Weather to die and forced us to kill everyone who helped us, people who trusted me." Bellamy and Clarke were both close to tears. Bellamy turned away, trying to get his emotions in checked. It hurt Elena to see him like this. She knew how much of a toll everything had taken on him and it made her want to forgive him, just like that, but she knew she couldn't. If she forgave him, he'd see as her acceptance of his beliefs and plans and she couldn't just allow him to go through with them without a fight.

"I…" Clarke stammered, not expecting that. At a complete loss for words, she slowly backed away, dropping down onto a chair. "I'm sorry," she whispered, making Bellamy face her again and Elena look at her, surprised. "I'm sorry for leaving. I knew I could because they had you and Elena," Clarke dropped her head, trying to hide her tears. Bellamy sighed and walked over to her, kneeling down in front of her. This made Elena straighten herself up out of shock. Could Clarke possibly have gotten through to him? He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, making Clarke smile at him. "I know we can fix this."

He nodded. "I'm sorry, too." But just before Elena could sigh a sigh of relief and run to hug him, he slapped a pair of handcuffs onto Clarke's wrist and the metal bar beside her.

Elena gasped and shot forward, "no!" She tried to protest but Bellamy was quick to catch hold of her before she could do anything, spinning her around and dominating her with his strength - albeit, with a little bit of difficulty. He pinned her to the wall, slipping one leg between her own so she couldn't attack him and holding her wrists above her head while he attached one side of a second pair of handcuffs to another bar. He brought one of her wrists down and secured it with the other side of the cuffs. "What are you doing?"

"Calm down," he muttered into her ear as he tried to stop her struggling, "I'll take them off when I've dealt with Clarke." Finally, he let her go, striding across the room as quickly as he could.

"No, don't. No, Bellamy, don't," Clarke cried and begged as he walked out of the door and shut it behind him on his way to get back up. Elena let out a few grunts as she tugged against the cuffs, which only resulted in a sore wrist. "Damn him!" She cursed through gritted teeth, slamming her foot against the metal wall. "I was so stupid to fall for that! How could I ever think that all it would take was for you to apologise."

Clarke sniffed, shaking her head frantically if it would get rid of her tears. "I thought we had him, too." The door reopened to reveal Bellamy and another guard.

Elena glowered at Bellamy as he approached her cautiously, holding the key to the cuffs up as a sign of peace. Elena huffed but calmed down, allowing him to detach the cuffs from the bar. "I can't believe you're doing this to her." Bellamy pointedly ignored his girlfriend. He grabbed ahold of her arm and in one fell swoop clipped the cuffs onto her other wrist, making her jaw drop. With a quiet 'ugh', she snatched herself away from, delivering a blow to his stomach with her knee. However, he caught her leg before she could actually hit him and used it to pull her into him. She let out a small squeal and landed face first into his chest, too startled to stop him from turning her in his arms. Once rid of the shock, she tried to shake him off again but stopped when he hissed her name and applied more pressure to her arms.

"Stop struggling," he demanded, lips brushing against her ear. A shiver ran down her spine, which made her want to kick herself over how much he still affected her despite her anger.

"Why should I?" She asked, focusing on the guard who was unlocking Clarke's handcuffing, repeating the same process as Bellamy.

"Because it will get these," he lowered a hand to her wrists and shook them lightly, "off much sooner." He felt her stop wriggling, though knew she was still tense. Relieved to finally have gotten her to listen to him, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, which made her flinch. It would have broken his heart to see that and, against her better judgement, she was quite glad he didn't see it. The guard took hold of the chain of Clarke's handcuffs and hauled her up, marching her out of the room. Bellamy soon followed suit, choosing to merely wrap an arm around Elena's waist rather than tug her through the hallway.

"Why are you treating her like she's a prisoner?" Elena asked Bellamy, eyes trained on Clarke's head golden locks.

"Technically, she's the enemy."

"Well,_ technically_, so am I. I never rejected the coalition."

Bellamy gritted his teeth at her continuous defiance. "She was living with them."

"What will Pike do with her?"

"I'm sure he'll give her a fair chance to drop any plans she has and join our side."

Elena shook her head and laughed a quiet, humourless laugh. "'Our side'?" She sighed and looked up at Bellamy. "Bell, please don't do this. I'm asking you not to do this," it was her last resort and she wasn't sure it would work. "Just let her go, please."

Bellamy rubbed her side gently, "believe it or not, I am doing this for her own good."

"Believe it or not, I'm doing this for yours," Octavia mimicked her brother, running up from behind them and kicking the back of the guard's knee, making him fall to the ground. She grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked his head down as she aimed her knee at it, knocking him unconscious.

Bellamy was quick to let go of Elena and grab Clarke's arm instead, preventing her from escaping. "You can't just hit a guard," He chided Octavia.

"I just did. Let her go."

"I can't do that." They all heard voices coming from down the hall.

"They're coming," Octavia announced.

Bellamy ran a hand down his face, trying to figure out what to do. He grabbed the key from his pocket and handed it to Elena. "You should go," he ordered his girlfriend and sister. Octavia took the key, unlocking Elena's cuffs for her while Elena managed to catch Clarke's eye, nodding to her. Clarke understood what she meant and yanked herself away from Bellamy, dropping down beside the unconscious guard and taking his taser. She stood up, swiftly swinging the weapon at Bellamy, making his groan and fall to the floor, gasping for air.

Elena swiped the key from Octavia's hands, "knock him out, O," she murmured. Octavia did what she was told, bringing her elbow down onto Bellamy's head hard enough to knock him unconscious. In the meantime, Elena unlocked Clarke's cuffs. "Clarke, do whatever it takes to fix this on your end, okay?"

Clarke shook her head, knowing what this meant. "No, come with me, please."

"I can't," Elena whispered, smiling weakly at Clarke, "I have to stay here." She cupped Clarke's face and kissed her forehead. "Be careful, okay." Without waiting for an answer, she turned to Octavia and wrapped her arms around her. "You too, little sister. Leave your brother to me."

"Okay," Octavia answered.

"Now, go!" The two ran away, leaving Elena alone in the hallway with two unconscious bodies. A few moments later, guards came rushing past her, a couple stopping by her.

"What happened?" One asked her.

Time for some A-grade acting. "I-I don't know," she stuttered, "I just got here and found them on the floor. They're fine, I think, just unconscious." The guards easily bought it. "Take him to medical," she pointed at the unconscious man. One man nodded and got to work while she turned to the second man. "Help me get him to his room," she asked.

* * *

Bellamy moaned as he woke up, feeling a light pounding in his head. The light irritated him, causing him to raise his arm and lay it across his eyes.

"Good, you're awake," a blank voice said. Removing his arm, he let his head fall to the side, eyes catching sight of a brunette sat against the wall opposite the bed. His gaze finally focused and he watched as she stood up, approaching the bed. "You're fine. Octavia and Clarke got away, no thanks to you. I'm only here because I wanted to let you know that I'll be staying in another room," she explained.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes with one hand, attempting to process what she had just said. "Why?" He mumbled.

"Because right now I can't stand to be around you," she replied quietly, avoiding his gaze. She attempted to leave the room but Bellamy noticed this and shot up from the bed, clutching her hand desperately.

"Elena, please-"

"No, don't," she shouted, pulling her hand away from his. Her eyes were filled with teargas she looked up into his. "You have no right to ask me to stay with you after what you did, Bellamy."

Bellamy gulped, pushing back the lump forming in his throat, "I was protecting you."

"No," she denied, "they were protecting me," she was choking up, "us. At least they were until _you_ killed them."

"It was a problem that had to be dealt with!" He defended himself. They would have killed them, he kept repeating to himself. He didn't enjoy killing them but it was necessary. If she would just listen, she'd understand, he knew she would.

"'A problem to be dealt with'?" She shrieked, resisting the urge to slap him into the next century. "God, Bell, listen to yourself! They were people, too, Bellamy, people who did nothing wrong-"

Bellamy scoffed out a sharp laugh at that. "Don't you dare act like they're so innocent, Elena, they've killed our people-"

"And we've killed theirs, or does that not count because we were protecting ourselves? Well, newsflash, Blake, _so were they_. Me, my father, Clarke, Lexa, we were all working towards peace-"

"Yeah, sure, until Lexa inevitably betrays us again and kills us all!"

Their voices were so loud, Elena was sure anyone even remotely near the room could hear them, which was why she had to calm down. Getting herself caught now wouldn't do anyone any good. Clenching her fists, she willed herself to lower her voice. "What's happened to you, Bellamy? Because whoever this is," she jabbed her finger against his chest, "isn't the man I fell in love with."

Bellamy felt his stomach drop. His anger dissolved immediately as he latched onto her wrist, pulling her close to him. "I'm still me," he spoke in a mere whisper.

"No," Elena frowned sadly, "you're not." She pushed herself away from him, backing away from him and towards the door. "Don't bother coming after me, I really don't want to be near you at the moment."

His voice shook as he asked, "what does this mean for us?"

Elena felt her heart pounding as she licked her lips. Never had she wished so hard for all this to just be a nightmare that she could wake up from and find out that everything is perfectly fine. But it wasn't. Reality wasn't perfect, it wasn't anywhere near it. "I don't know, Bellamy."


	47. Bitter Harvest

**Here's the next chapter, already! I wrote this instead of the coursework I should actually have been writing…oops! Well, hope you guys enjoy it. I'm really loving this season so far and I hope you guys are, too, both the actual series and this story ^_^**

* * *

Elena was with her father in his quarters. Octavia was currently observing Pike's detail, feeding information to them through the radio. "Pike's detail is still at it...soil and water samples," she informed them.

Marcus shared a look with his daughter. "Any idea what they're up to?"

"No, but considering how heavily they're armed, I don't think they want anyone to find out," she answered. "Crap," came the quiet but urgent murmur.

Elena quickly stole the radio away from her father. "What is it, O? Are you okay?"

"There's a Grounder kid. Hang on."

There was radio silence for a while, worrying them. "Octavia, please respond," Elena pleaded, concerned for her friend's safety.

Marcus took the radio back. "Octavia, you there?" He asked.

"They're going after the kid. I'm trying to cut them off."

More silence. Elena looked at her father, panic painted all over her face. "What's taking her so long?"

"Give her another minute," Marcus told her, patting her shoulder comfortingly.

"I'm here," Octavia finally responded, making Elena release a sigh of relief.

"You okay?" Her father clarified, putting O's safety before asking her to continue.

"You need to find out what Pike is up to right now," she didn't answer his question, so Elena assumed she was fine since she was talking with ease, showing no signs of being in pain. "Whatever it is, they were willing to kill a kid to keep it quiet."

"We're on it."

"Stay safe!" Elena added.

* * *

The father-daughter duo assigned Miller the duty of scoping out the chancellor's office to let them know when they could safely plant the listening device sitting in Marcus' pocket. On the off chance that someone may approach the room, Miller and Elena would be there to distract them while Marcus planted the device.

Coming to a halt outside the door, Marcus turned to the two teens that stood with him. "You two step aside in case someone answers." He was a little paranoid about getting caught, to say the least.

"I told you, no one's home," Miller tried to convince him.

Marcus knocked on the door but no one answered, making Miller smirk. "What?" He snapped, typing in the code to open the door.

"Bet you didn't think we'd be breaking the law together when you arrested me on the Ark, huh?" Miller remarked smugly, causing Elena to roll her eyes.

Her father grabbed Miller's collar threateningly. "This isn't a game, Nate. If we don't find out what Pike's up to, more people will die."

"Then let's not get caught." The guard responded.

"Chancellor Pike, good to see you," a man's voice rang out from down the hall. They all looked down the hallway, hearts skipping a beat.

"Hey, you put it somewhere smart, out of sight," Marcus instructed, handing the device over to Miller, "we'll buy you some time." Miller nodded, disappearing off into the room, while Marcus and Elena started walking in Pike's direction. Said man came sauntering down the hallway with Bellamy in tow, making Elena hesitate. They hadn't seen each other since she walked out on him and she had been wanting to keep it that way for a little longer but alas, fate did not seem to have that in store for them. "There you are. We need to talk about these things Jaha's distributing." Elena was pretty impressed by how smoothly her father's excuse for talking was delivered. She felt eyes burning holes through her but did her best to keep on avoiding Bellamy's gaze.

"No, we don't," Pike answered, not wanting to waste time on things like that. "That's Abby's department."

"Yeah," Elena spoke up, taking the reigns from her father, "and she's concerned about them but you're the one with the authority to do something about it."

Pike sighed and moved his eyes to Elena. "I'm sorry, Elena, but I have much more immediate concerns," he talked to her as if speaking to a five year old. It was patronising and she wanted to punch him. Pike marched past them but Marcus wasn't having any of it.

"Like the imprisoned Grounders?" He inquired.

Pike sighed, internally groaning out of annoyance. Marcus Kane was working his last nerve. "Bellamy, go on ahead," he wanted to deal with Kane on his own. He couldn't lose Bellamy's loyalty.

"Yes, Sir," Bellamy nodded, leaving the three behind. Marcus subtly gestured for Elena to follow him, which she did so after swallowing her pride.

"Bellamy, wait," she called out, jogging after him. He didn't stop for her but he did slow his pace down, making it easier for her to catch up.

"Oh, so you're talking to me now?" Bellamy muttered once she caught up with him, his tone bitter.

Elena clenched her jaw, he had no right to be angry with her. She wasn't the one going around mindlessly killing people. Never mind, she thought, she had a job to do and no amount of anger could sway her determination to carry it out. "I'm sorry," she started, figuring apologising would be the best way to capture his full attention. He came to an abrupt stop, turning to face her. One look at his expression was all it took for her to realise that he didn't believe what he was hearing. "I'm sorry for…" she paused, trying to find something that she wouldn't regret apologising for, "for walking out on you the way I did." Hook, line, and sinker, she silently cheered, though she did actually feel bad for leaving the way she did. It was obvious this piqued his interest. "I know we should've talked it out calmly, it's just, every time we tried to talk it ended in a screaming match and neither of us listened to the other."

"So what? You just gave up? Is that how we handle things now?" As much as he appreciated the apology, Bellamy still wasn't hearing what he wanted to hear. She wasn't giving up on her stand against Pike and she clearly still didn't understand that he just wanted to protect her.

"No," Elena answered quickly, "I mean, I don't know." She idly started playing with her hair. This wasn't going as well as she had hoped.

Bellamy shook his head. "Look, this isn't going anywhere and I have somewhere to be." It was a stark contrast to the man who had been begging her to stay with him last night, and it surprised her. She watched him turn to leave and panicked at the thought of him finding Miller, so she did the only thing she could think of. She pulled him back to her and crashed her lips to his, entangling her hands in his hair to keep him in place. Bellamy was obviously completely taken aback. One minute, he's leaving her behind, and the next he's stumbling into her, planting his hands on her hips to steady himself, with her lips on his. Elena, the one who walked out, was kissing him. Unbeknownst to Bellamy, Elena had her eyes open, looking out for Miller. The door opened slowly and quietly and out crept Miller, who let out a quiet snort when he saw Elena's distraction tactic. He nodded to her, smirking when he saw her flip him off, and walked away. She waited until he was out of sight before pulling away from Bellamy breathlessly. Both were heavily panting, one perplexed, but pleasantly so, by what had just happened and the other looking anywhere but her boyfriend. Bellamy caught his breath before capturing Elena's lips in another kiss.

Her eyes widened from shock and she quickly shied away from his touch, placing her palms flat against his chest and gently pushing him away. "Sorry, I-I," she stumbled over her words, "I have to go." It was a lame attempt to excuse herself but she didn't care, she had to get out of there. Why had she done that? Elena mentally kicked herself. Yes, she panicked but that was just plain cruel; playing with his emotions like that was wrong. But what else could she have done? She threw head back and groaned loudly, making her look crazy to anyone passing by. She hated things being like this, she felt so conflicted. On the one hand, she loved Bellamy more than life itself and just wanted to be with him but on the other hand, he was killing innocents and acting like a stubborn, testosterone led alpha male. "Damn it," she cursed softly, deciding to just shake it off for now and hurry to the meeting place where they would listen in on the council meeting.

* * *

With the device safely planted, Miller, Elena and Marcus all sat around the radio, listening in on their conversation. Octavia was also tuned in on it as she ran through the forest.

"Okay, let's get this meeting started," they heard Pike announce. "Welcome Farm Station's own Monty Green and factory girl Zoe Monroe as we begin our next crucial phase: expansion and salvation, and this will lead the way."

"Dirt?" Monroe's voice sounded out.

"Soil," Pike corrected, "fertile, arable soil, vastly more rich than anything we've found since landing. We'll clear the trees and plant within the month."

"We start with soybeans and corn," Hannah expanded on his explanation, "they grow the fastest."

There was silence, save the brief rustle of fabric and the light thuds of footsteps. "What's wrong, Monty? Don't like corn?" Bryan jested.

"I've never had corn, actually," Monty muttered. "Is this where we're going?"

"That's right," Pike responded.

"There's a village here. What about the people who live there?"

"Sector 4," Bellamy spoke up, making Elena more alert. "We talked about this. The people there are not a threat."

"We need that land. With the loss of Mount Weather's resources, Arkadia will be starving in less than a year," Pike argued.

"With all due respect, Sir, you still haven't answered Monty's question."

"You know the answer. Every field must be cleared of stones before it's tilled."

"We were spotted by a child, so they'll be expecting us," Hannah admitted, "but they lost their fighters when we took out the army. We don't expect resistance."

"They're Grounders," Monty snapped, "they'll resist."

"Even if they don't, the Commander's message was clear: 'blood must not have blood'," Elena was relieved to hear Bellamy arguing with Pike, "that doesn't mean we can start taking-"

"What would you prefer," Pike interjected, "die fighting for your home or starve to death? Will you do what needs to be done for your people to survive, or not?" Everyone single person listening to the conversation waited intently for Bellamy's answer.

"We'll do what needs to be done." And just like that, the relief vanished.

* * *

Her foot tapped continuously against the floor as she watched them prepare to leave for Sector 4. It surprised her to see that Monty, her sweet, sweet friend, was actually going through with this. She hated the thought of being left behind, waiting for news and not being able to do anything all the while. She wanted to know for sure that the people of the village had escaped. Sinking her teeth into her bottom lip, she considered asking Bellamy to take her with him. She hadn't spoken to him since they kissed, actively avoiding him when she saw him in the halls. She was being ridiculous, she knew that; acting as if it was the first kiss they'd ever shared at the beginning of a new relationship, when in reality they had been together for a while and it had been 2 kisses among many. Despite this, she had never been so furious and upset with him when they kissed, which she decided justified her actions. Back to the dilemma at hand, she could feel the urge to go with them overpowering her sense of reason, so she sheepishly approached Bellamy once he had walked away from her father and tapped his shoulder.

He turned around and raised a brow at her. "Yes?"

"Take me with you," she demanded but added as an after thought, "please?"

"And why would I do that?"

She had kind of been expecting that. "I could act as an onsite medic," she suggested, "you never know what could happen. "C'mon, Bell," she whimpered, throwing out his nickname and giving him her best doe-eyed look. Dirty tricks but very necessary and very successful.

"She has a point," Hannah admitted as she walked pass the pair.

"Fine," Bellamy conceded, "but don't get involved." She nodded eagerly, willing to accept anything if it meant going with them. "I'm serious, Elena."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I know, Bellamy." They walked over to the rover and climbed in after everyone else. Much to Elena's displeasure, there was one seat left, which left her sitting on Bellamy's lap. This made for a very awkward ride, seeing as she had to sit sideways across him, placing their faces very close together. Not to mention that every time they went over a bump in the road, which happened a lot, Bryan's shoulder would hit her back, jolting her forward. It was quite possibly the worse ride she had ever experienced - and she had nearly been crushed by a tree during one ride.

* * *

It was dark by the time they reached the village. Everyone piled out of the car, eagerly awaiting whatever was waiting for them at the village. They all took their guns out, aiming them, and cautiously walked forward.

"Wait by the car," Bellamy ordered Elena quietly, making her grit her teeth but endure it.

"I don't hear anything. Maybe no one's home," Monroe commented as she looked around. Relief flooded Elena's system as she, too, couldn't see anyone.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Bellamy called out as he joined the others.

"Maybe they saw our lights and left," Hannah suggested, looking to Bellamy for agreement. Bellamy signalled for Monroe to scope out the area with him and the others. Elena's eyes scoured the area. She felt as though she was being watched and it unnerved her. Moving her line of sight up to the top of the hills, she spotted little dots of lights that looked like fire. She frowned, wondering what they could possibly be until she thought back to Monty's words, 'they're Grounders, they'll resist', and realised that maybe the villagers weren't as far away as she first thought. The loud neigh of a horse only confirmed her thoughts.

"Bellamy," she called out, making her boyfriend look at her immediately.

He silently wondered why she was looking up at the sky with wides eyes before realising that she wasn't looking at the sky at all. "Contact, two o'clock!" He warned the others, running over to Elena so that he stood in front of her.

"Bellamy! Elena!" Someone screamed at them. Octavia. "Get them out of there! It's a trap!"

"Incoming! Take cover!" He grabbed Elena and ran them over to the far side of the rover, ducking for cover. The grounders fired flaming arrows, hitting the piles of wood they had stacked up earlier. Strange smelling smoke started rising from them.

"The smoke is poison!" Octavia yelled.

"Bellamy, we have to leave!" Elena stressed, hoping he wouldn't be stupid enough to actually try and fight back.

He nodded and shouted, "fall back. Fall back! Stay away from the smoke. Get back to the rover."

Everyone began running away but Monroe fell over, unable to get up due to the large amount of poison she had inhaled. "Monty! Help!"

Monty immediately began running to her but was grabbed before he could reach anywhere near her. "Let me go!"

"Please help me! Please!"

"I have to save her!" Monty fought against them and managed to get free, ignoring the calls for him to get back. Elena broke out of Bellamy's hold and sprinted after him, covering her mouth and nose with her sleeve after taking a deep breath. Bellamy screamed her name and it took four men to hold him back from going after her. Elena found Monty attempting to pick Monroe up and ran over to them, swinging one of Monroe's arms over her shoulders, while Monty mimicked the action. They managed to quickly get back to safety with her.

When they reached the area where everyone else was, Bellamy and a couple others ran over and helped hold them all up in their weakened states. "Come on, we've got to get her away from the smoke." They moved to an area with clean air, placing Monroe on the ground. Elena shoved everyone out of the way to observe Monroe's condition, facing to the ground beside her. Monroe was deathly pale and struggling to breathe, only being able to let out strangled chokes.

"How the hell did they know?" Bryan asked, shaken up.

Elena felt as though she was literally frozen in place. Tears sprung to her eyes as the panic rose within her. Unlike her last run in with poison, there was no antidote conveniently sitting in a vial, waiting to be used. Her breathing quickened as she moved her blurry vision to Bellamy. "I-I can't," she shook her head frantically, "there's nothing I can do." Monroe took her final breath before falling silent.

"Monroe?" Bellamy called desperately.

"Monroe, no!" Monty cried.

Elena cradled Monroe's body in her arms, whispering into her hair, "I'm so sorry I couldn't save you," as sobs wracked her body. Bellamy rubbed a hand across his face before wrapping his arms around Elena, kissing the top of her head repeatedly.

"Your sister did this," Hannah threw the accusation at Bellamy, who looked away guiltily.

"How the hell did she know?" Bryan inquired.

"We have traitors in our camp," Hannah replied, glaring at Elena simply because she was the most obvious suspect's daughter but Elena was too busy crying to notice.

* * *

They felt numb as they returned to Arkadia. Another life had been lost, a person they both had been incredibly fond of and had high amounts of respect for. Monroe had always been nothing but loyal, she deserved so much more than this. Elena was so distracted that she couldn't find it in herself to fight against Bellamy when he grabbed hold of her hand and lead her back to what had previously been their shared room. Both remained silent during the walk and when they finally reached their destination. Elena took a seat on the bed, scooting back to lean against the wall and bring her knees up to her chest, while Bellamy shut the door behind them. Her lips trembled as tears slipped down her cheeks.

Bellamy swallowed heavily, looking over at Elena when her heard her stifling her sniffles. He slowly walked over to her, sitting in front of her on the bed. "You need to stop this now," he whispered, wiping her tears away with his thumb and reaching up to smooth her hair.

"I didn't do anything," she mumbled, not meeting his eyes. She refused to admit to anything. Even though Monroe had died, they couldn't stop trying to overthrow Pike now. A knock at the door prevented Bellamy from replying. Elena hastened to wipe her tears away, moving to face away from the door as Bellamy opened it.

"Pike wants to see you," one of Pike's men informed Bellamy, who glanced back at Elena.

He nodded at the man and sent him on his way before going back over to Elena, leaning down to place a kiss on the top of her head. "Stay here, I'll be back soon."

* * *

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Bellamy asked the moment he walked through the door.

"How you holding up?" Pike asked. He had heard about the night's events.

"I've been better."

"Yeah. We all have. We need to talk about your sister. Two of our people died today because of her, not to mention the ash-poisoned soil, making the land useless."

"The Grounders did that. Octavia tried to warn them," Bellamy argued.

"Yes, after she warned them. Someone in this camp is giving her information. I need to know who."

"We both know who. Kane."

"And what's the betting that his daughter's helping him?" Pike watched Bellamy closely, taking in the way the young man's body when rigid at the thought. "Alright, here's the deal," Bellamy's brow furrowed, both confused and curious about what Pike was about to suggest, "you help me get proof and I'll make sure your girlfriend is kept safe, completely protected."

Bellamy hesitated in taking the offer. It was exactly what he wanted but it meant getting Elena's father in serious trouble. He highly doubted she would appreciate that. However, he did promise himself that he would do whatever it took to protect Elena. If it meant getting Kane locked up until he showed cooperation, so be it. She was an expert in holding a grudge but Elena couldn't hate him forever. Bellamy looked down at the hand Pike held out and shook it firmly. "You have a deal, Sir."

"Good, you're doing the right thing. You're dismissed."

* * *

"What did he say?" Elena shot up from her spot on the bed the moment Bellamy came back into the room. Her face had been cleaned from any traces of tears. "Does he think I did it? I didn't know this would happen, Bellamy, you know that."

He nodded in agreement, "you're right, you didn't know and you'll continue not knowing anything."

Elena frowned. What was he being weird and cryptic? "What are you talking about?"

He took a step towards her, staring down at her with a rather intimidating glare. "Look, I've always told you that I'll protect you, no matter what, right?" She reluctantly nodded, stomach churning from the thought of where he could be going with this. "Well, I meant that."

"What have you done?" She asked, exhaling loudly and running a hand through her hair.

"Doesn't matter, all need to know is that you're protected."

She was really getting sick of his desperate need to protect her. Like she actually needed his protection, she was the proud owner of a sword and a fiery temper. "It does, Bellamy, what have you done?"

"What I had to do to keep you safe," he answered vaguely, not in the mood to listen to her scream at him for accepting the deal he was offered. "But you and your little group have to stop what you're doing, I mean it, Elena. You're not helping anyone."

"Oh," she scoffed, "and you are? Pike's a dictator!" Bellamy rolled his eyes, she was being over dramatic. "He'll get us all killed. The only reason we're all still alive is because Lexa is still trying to achieve peace!"

That was it. Bad mouthing Pike: whatever, he could deal with it. Supporting and praising the woman who betrayed them: he couldn't stand for it. He gripped her shoulders tightly, lightly shaking her once. "But we're not all still alive, are we? Or did you forget about Monroe?"

"Pike got Monroe killed, not Lexa, and not me," Elena spat viciously. "He was going to wipe out an entire village despite the fact that Lexa sent out a clear message: 'blood must not have blood'." She shoved his hands off of her, storming past him to the door.

"Like she really means that!" He shouted, whirling around to face her.

Elena looked round at him. "I'm through having the same conversation with you again and again, Bellamy. Face it, I'm never going to agree with you on this and I sure as hell won't stop doing what I believe is right!" She laughed bitterly, "I'd sooner die than let Pike continue killing our people, so you know what you've got to do if you want to stop me." It was an unspoken challenge, one that they both knew he'd never be able to rise to. Elena thought that to be a good note to end their conversation on and walked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her for added emphasis. She paused to listen to the low growl and the loud slam of a fist connecting with metal. She was exhausted from seemingly constantly being at war with Bellamy but she knew she was doing the right thing. They couldn't stop now and they wouldn't.


	48. Terms and Conditions

**So all I have to say today is please forgive me for what you're about to read… Enjoy~**

* * *

Kane's small group had met up in their room again. They were gathered around the radio, waiting for the latest council meeting to start. Marcus paced around the room, Harper sat crossed legged on a table, playing with fraying ends of her shirt and Miller and Elena sat on opposing chairs, the latter comfortably resting her feet resting in Miller's lap.

Elena had her arms crossed, biting down on her thumb as she recalled what she had been told by one of the guards this morning. "I can't believe Bellamy killed two more Grounders this morning," she mumbled to no one in particular. She drew her hand away from her mouth, resting her elbows on her lap, and held her head in her hands.

"That's who he is now, haven't you heard?" Miller remarked dryly, earning himself a sharp glare and a kick to his chest. He grunted, lightly slapping her leg. "What it's true? You need to accept that, Brat."

She huffed at the insulting nickname he used, falling back against her seat. "I know but there's a small part of me that keeps hoping he'll see the error of his ways that I just can't shake."

He shrugged at her, eyes softening as he offered a pat on the leg as a form of comfort. "It's only natural, you love him."

Eyeing him suspiciously, Elena let a small smirk slip onto her face. "You've grown soft since you got Bryan back."

"Have not," Miller denied, rolling his eyes at the grinning brunette. Muffled voices filled the air, suggesting that the council meeting was about to start. Immediately, every member of Kane's group set their attention on the radio.

"Our lookouts confirm another three encampments just over that ridge," they heard Bellamy inform the others.

"Well, they're not hiding from us, that's for sure," Pike replied, "how many days can we keep our population fed without being able to send out hunting parties?"

It was Hannah who spoke this time. "Food and water stores were already at less than 60%. Now, maybe a week before we go critical, two if we start rationing immediately."

"Immediately it is."

"What about breaking the blockade?"

Elena scoffed at Hannah's suggestion. "Like they could pull that off."

"After Bellamy's theatrics this morning," Pike started, "they'll expect that. Regardless, we can't engage the Grounders until we've got our own people under control, and that starts with Kane. I need you to suspend access to the prisoners, no contact with anyone in camp. For all we know, they've been providing intel on Grounder villages to Kane."

"Yes, sir," Bellamy complied.

"And I want you to take over coordination of camp surveillance. We'll need new security protocols at all camp entrances," They were unsure of who Pike was speaking to until they heard Monty speak up.

"Maybe, uh, changing critical passwords every 12 hours."

"Good, good. Coordinate with your mom but keep the circle tight. Then there's the matter of camp-wide surveillance," This made Elena look at her father with wide eyes. How were they going to continue with their plans if they had eyes watching them at all times? Marcus shook his head at her, gesturing for her to not worry about it just yet.

"You want us to spy on our people?" Monty asked, obviously shocked.

"We can't do what's needed to defend this camp if every order I give is leaked before it can be executed," Pike explained, "it's an old saying, but it's true: the walls have ears, and we can't afford any more assumptions about who's a friend and who isn't, not your oldest acquaintance, not your husband, wife, or lover. We're fighting two wars now, and the more dangerous one is here inside this camp. We can't prove it yet, but Kane and his accomplices passed information to Octavia. I know none of you signed up to investigate your neighbours, but Monroe and Lacroix died because the traitors in this camp sold them out to the Grounders."

"They died because he was stupid enough to send them out in the first place," Elena angrily muttered, gaining a hum of agreement from Miller and Harper. "Whoever did that will be hunted down and exposed for what they did to their own, for what they did to us. Now you get whatever resources, whatever personnel you need to make that happen. Dismissed."

"If they're gonna play that game, we need to play it, too," Marcus declared, standing up and pacing around again.

"Meaning?" Harper inquired, raising a brow at him.

"We don't meet here again, for starters," he elaborated, "we change our patterns, forget our habits. Take a different route through camp each time we go out. Assume that there are eyes on us at all times."

"Or we could just shock-lash Pike's fascist ass and hand him to the Grounders."

"I'm for that," Elena agreed, raising a hand.

Marcus threw them both a look of disapproval, though there wasn't much heart in it. "That would be murder, not to mention treason, and that's not who we are."

"Maybe it's who we need to be," Miller said slowly. There was silence as everyone accepted the fact that it may come down to that.

Marcus finally ended the silence. "Not yet."

"Alright, then. What's the plan?"

* * *

"Why did you feel the need to kill those Grounders, Bellamy?" Elena asked as she followed her boyfriend through the halls. He hadn't stopped for her, realising that no matter what he said, they'd end up fighting and nothing would change.

"I don't have time for this, Elena," Bellamy replied exasperatedly.

"Fine, then," she wasn't going to give up, she was determined to squeeze whatever information she could get out of him. "What are you doing about the blockade, huh?"

Bellamy sighed, "that doesn't concern you."

Elena internally groaned. He wasn't giving her any kind of hint about what Pike was planning next. Oh well, if everything went according to plan then Pike shouldn't be in power too much longer and everything could get back on track. "They won't just get bored and leave. Lexa proposed a 'blood must not have blood' rule but your Chancellor decided to ignore it and now two more people are dead!"

He finally came to a stop, spinning around to face her. "That's because-" he was cut off.

"No, you don't get to blame that on anyone else. They would still be here if Pike hadn't of sent them there in the first place, let alone sending them there with the intention to kill. Thanks to your precious Chancellor, it's back to the old way of living: 'jus drein, jus daun'."

"Stop talking like them, Elena!" Bellamy shouted, pushing Elena against the wall and slamming his hands down either side of her.

"Why should I?" She matched his tone, getting up in his face as much as he was hers, "right now, I'd much rather be a grounder than one of you."

Bellamy faltered in his stance. "You don't mean that."

"Yeah, actually, I do," Elena sighed. "Just hand him over, Bellamy, end this stupid war that you have all caused."

"I can't do that," Bellamy denied her request. She shook her head at him before pushing past him, storming down the halls far away from him.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Pike and Bellamy, or so they thought, Kane's group rendezvoused at their new meet up place. The other three were already there by the time Elena showed up.

"Hey, anyone follow you?" Her father asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She shook her head, "no."

"Did you find anything out from Bellamy?" Nate wondered, asking the question they were all thinking.

"Only that I really want to punch him and see if it knocks any common sense into him," Elena replied sweetly, though her eye roll juxtaposed her tone completely. "How can he not the danger they are putting us all in with every move they make?"

Despite her whining about Bellamy's stupidity, Harper knew Elena was hurt and she didn't like seeing her friend in so much pain. She had grown so used to seeing the couple being affectionate with one another and fighting their battles together that it felt weird to see them standing on opposite sides. "He'll come around."

"Wishful thinking," Nate remarked under his breath. Cue the glare from Harper.

Elena patted Harper's arm and smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks, Harper, but it's fine. Nate's right," she span to face Miller, looking at him expectantly, "as for you, give me some good news. Tell me we've heard from O." He licked his lips and avoided her gaze.

"We've been scanning different channels all morning. Nothing," Harper explained sadly.

"I mean, either she's out of range or-" Miller spoke but was cut off by Marcus.

"Or they already got her. Or she ran her battery down. Or she needed the radio silence to run the blockade. There are a lot of reasons why she might have gone dark." No one wanted to think of the alternative.

"I've been out there patrolling for the last 3 months. I know this area better than any Grounder. Just let me go out-"

Harper's eyes widened as she listened to the radio. Ripping the headphones out of it, she placed the radio on the table and captured the attention of the others, "guys, listen to this."

Like always, it was Pike that started off whatever meeting was going on. "Results of this morning's missions inventory was sobering. In no way do we currently have the ammo for an extended series of firefights, not even close."

"So what's Plan "B"?" Bellamy asked.

"Our lookouts say the largest Grounder encampment is in this valley, so we deploy an assault team in Rover One, and we do as much damage as we can with automatic weapons."

"And they'll just fall back and make a run for reinforcements," Hannah said.

"I'm counting on that. The only way there and back is over this ridge. Now, we can bottleneck their warriors and pick them off."

"We got the firepower for that?" Bellamy inquired.

"We won't need it. We have a dozen concussive antipersonnel devices in our armoury. I've already got a weapons man rigging them with a remote trigger. We load the APDs into the rover and mine the field before we attack. After we strike, we lure their reinforcements onto the ridge, and once we have enough Grounders in the killing box-"

Bellamy finished his sentence. "We detonate. It'll buy us some time, but…"

"Time's what we need. We move at dawn." Little did Kane's group know, Pike's group all had their eyes on the listening device, which had previously been hidden under the desk.

Miller punched the wall out of frustration as Marcus started coming up with a plan of action. "All right. We need to disable that rover. If they take it out, it doesn't matter how many Grounders they kill, 10 times that number will descend on Arkadia, and no one will survive."

Harper was doubtful as to whether his plan would work or not. "You got any idea how we're gonna stop them?"

Elena tugged a hand through her curls, ruffling them slightly. "You know we have to hand him over, right?" She asked her dad, praying that he'll finally give in to the reality of the situation. "Even if you do view it as a form of murder, Dad, it's the only way out of this. Pike had his chance and he blew it," Elena tried to convince her father, gently though as she knew how he felt about the idea of giving Pike up to the Grounders.

He nodded gravely, "I know."

* * *

Not long after, Elena found herself sat in a chair, pretending to read a book and sharing glances with her father from across the room. She subtly observed Sinclair, who made himself look busy until it was time for the plan to start.

Large hands settled themselves on her shoulders and, from their familiarity, she knew they could only belong to one person. A pair of lips brushed against her ear, murmuring lowly into it. "Stop whatever you're planning, now, Elena," Bellamy demanded. To anyone else, Bellamy's actions would seem to be sweet and loving. To Elena, however, they were a sign of confinement. He didn't want her running away from his warning, no, he wanted her to do as he said. Fine, she thought, so be it. She wouldn't run away from him, she'd do exactly what he had told her to do. Feign complete innocence.

"What are you talking about?" She questioned him, allowing a look of confusion to slip onto her face. It was hard not to smirk when she felt his hands tighten around her shoulders.

"You know what I'm talking about," he hissed through gritted teeth. She was being ridiculous. Why did she continue to go against his orders?

"I'm not supposed to know anything, remember?" Her tone held a certain amount of bite to it as she thought back to one of their earlier conversations. It left a bad taste in her mouth.

Bellamy growled quietly, moving around to stand in front of her. Taking her chin between his thumb and index finger, he lifted her face to look at him. "Why must you keep testing my patience, Elena?" He was quickly losing his cool and she relished in it. "Pike's already pardoned you of any role you played in your schemes before, it would be wise not to push him."

"I never asked for immunity, Bellamy. I never asked for your protection, either," she fired back, a smug grin suddenly plastered itself onto her face as she cocked her head to the side, "but doesn't that just make me the perfect person to execute any 'plans'?" She taunted him even further, using air quotes around 'plans'. She glanced at Sinclair, who was now pretending to work on the rover, and, when Bellamy turned to look at whatever she had been staring at, made a show of trying to keep him distracted. She grabbed his face in her hands and yanked him back to look at her, making a move to speak but was cut off by him.

"Looks like you plan has been foiled, after all," he muttered, tearing her hands from his face and approaching Sinclair.

Elena had to bite her lip to avoid grinning, "that's what you think." Hopping down from the chair, she stayed a safe distance away from the scene, merely observing it.

"Bellamy's heading towards you now," a voice said quietly in her ear. They all had small headsets in order to communicate with each other and Elena was thankful that her hair covered it while being so close to Bellamy. Not that it would have made much of a difference to what was about to go down.

"Sinclair," she heard her boyfriend call out, looking down at the engineer, "what are you up to?"

Sinclair slid out from under the rover and peered up at the younger man. "Raven said the solenoid is acting up, so I thought I'd swap it out."

She saw Bellamy watching her father closely while talking to Sinclair but he father remained seated and reading. "You got a work order for that?"

Sinclair got up, shrugging, "sure," he said slowly, "I think it's on my desk."

A brief moment of silence passed before Bellamy reached for his radio. Sinclair decked it out of the room. "Go." On Bellamy's order, guards surrounded the man, hauling him to the investigation room. Marcus took the chance to slip away, unnoticed. Elena, however, lingered by the door for a little while longer on her way out, placing her hand on the doorway so she could lean on it as she looked back over her shoulder.

Bellamy approached the man who was being pinned to the floor. He had it all figured out, authority practically oozing from him. "There is no work order, and there is nothing wrong with the rover, though if you had another 10 minutes, I'm sure there would be. You're under arrest. The charge is treason." He nodded his head as a gesture for the guards to take Sinclair away, which they quickly obliged. "That's one down," he announced into his radio, moving his eyes to the doorway, spying Elena. She held his gaze for a few seconds before sauntering off, curls bouncing after every step she took. Bellamy thought he had won but she knew better. Let the games begin, she thought with a smirk.

* * *

Marcus had summoned Bellamy as a final attempt to get him to see the light. Elena leaned against the wall, one foot propped up against it, arms crossed, face void of emotion. She was incredibly dubious of her father's idea of talking to Bellamy but figured she'd stick around to see the outcome anyway.

Bellamy finally arrived, standing beside Marcus with his hands on his hips. "Wasn't much of a plan, sabotaging the rover," he remarked, "keeping an eye on Sinclair was an easy call."

"Was it?" Marcus turned to him. "Spying on your friend, that was easy?"

"Of course, it was," Elena answered for him. "That's the kind of corrupted council they run." When Bellamy turned to share his disapproving glance with her, she met him with a sneer.

"People here in camp were losing focus," Bellamy tried to explain. He wanted them to listen and stop all of their plans, that way they'd make a much stronger force to be reckoned with and could stop the Grounders with little trouble. "There's a threat outside these walls-"

"My god, Bellamy, when are you going to wake up?" Elena pushed herself off the walk, striding over to stand in front of Bellamy. "That 'threat' is a warning for Pike. Everything is because of Pike, why can't you see that?"

Marcus placed his hands on her shoulders, peering over her to look at Bellamy. "She's right, the threat's inside the walls. Can't you see that Pike's turning us against each other?"

Bellamy laughed humourlessly. "He's the chancellor. Have you forgotten that?"

"No," Marcus shook his head, he wished he could, though. "No, I haven't."

"Then do the right thing."

"That's the problem. No matter how I look at it, I am."

"Really?" Bellamy squared up to him, his frustration beginning to grow. "Because the way I see it, Monroe died because of you." Elena's body froze as she let out a quiet gasp. How dare he. That wasn't their fault. Naturally, she went to argue but Marcus placed his hand over her mouth, silencing her. She tried to throw a peeved glance his way but he didn't see it.

"And now Pike's locked up Sinclair. You don't think he'll be the next to die?" Marcus inquired, allowing Elena to pull his hand from her mouth.

Bellamy looked at him incredulously. What was this guy on? "Of course not."

"Think about where this ends: half the camp behind bars while the other half starves," Marcus painted the picture for Bellamy, hoping it would sway Bellamy's stance on the issue at hand. "People won't stand for it. They'll turn against Pike, but by then, it'll be too late.

The younger man shook his head. "Pike has a plan." Elena stepped back so her father could take a step closer to Bellamy and fight his case.

"Pike's always got a plan, and it's always the same one: take the fight to the Grounders. That's what got Monroe killed."

"You're crossing a line, Kane," Bellamy warned through gritted teeth.

"No, no. I crossed it," he leaned closer to Bellamy. "I asked you here because I hoped you'd join me. It's still not too late to choose the right side."

"That's exactly what I came here to tell you," Bellamy replied, walking off and leaving the two behind.

Elena sighed and walked off after him. It was when they reached the hallway that Elena got tired of chasing after him, opting to shout out to him instead. "When did you become the kind of person you hate?" It was a simple question, she thought, but clearly it had him confused. He halted in place, not turning to face her but obviously listening to her words. "The type of person who blindly follows orders despite the fact that every single one of them has lead to either threats, fights, someone being locked up, or worse, killed. When did you become that person, Bellamy Blake? Because the guy I knew would never have gone through with spying on his friends, locking them up, nor would he have taken lives unnecessarily."

Bellamy clenched his jaw and turned around, watching her closely as she came to a stop in front of him. "You still don't get it-"

"No," she snapped, "I'm not done yet and you will not talk until I am," that shut him up. Though she had shocked him into silence from the sheer sharpness and anger in her voice, he couldn't help but also think it best to let her have her little temper tantrum. "You once told me that who we are and who we need to be to survive are very different things and I got that, to a certain extent. But tell me, Bellamy, what happens when you completely lose sight of who you are? And what do you do when you lose _everything_ you have ever loved and cared for as a result of that, huh? Is surviving worth losing all that? Because the way things are now and the way they're going is going to cost you more of your closest friends, Octavia," she tapped her index and middle finger, as if checking them off a list, "and me," she tapped her ring finger, "I can pretty much guarantee that will happen - whether it be through a war with the Grounders or by Pike's hand when he inevitably grows tired of the resistance and kills off the only thing keeping him from having complete control over the camp." The silence was oddly deafening as Elena stood back and watched Bellamy think it all through. She saw an array of emotions pass over his face. Shock at the harsh reality check, anger that she was still resisting, hurt because she clearly had no faith left in him and lastly, fear of losing everyone he loves.

Bellamy opened and closed his mouth several times, clearly trying to organise his thoughts into a sentence. Rubbing a hand across his forehead and down the side of his face, he wearily sighed and looked at the girl in front of him. "I haven't lost sight of who I am, Princess." His voice was gentle and tired like he had lost all the fight he had left in him.

"You're wrong," Elena quietly protested, nodding assuredly. "I wish you weren't but you are." And she wasn't going to hold back anymore. If she had to face off against him later on, she would - and she'd give it everything she had.

* * *

Hiding out while waiting for the signal was proving to be a lot harder than Elena thought. She was growing restless, wanting to get out there and distract the guards already so her father could grab Pike and get out of there. She and Harper shared bored looks while she continued her pacing.

"You're going to wear holes through the floor if you keep pacing like that," Harper jested weakly from her place against the wall.

Elena went to reply but a shout sounded through the air, cutting them off. "Kom Nau!" Their heads snapped up, sharing nods of confirmation and running out to join the fight. Harper pulled out her shock batons and began disabling various guards from moving. Elena ran through the chaos, spotting a weakened Grounder struggling against a guard. Delivering a blow to the guard's side, she knocked him off balance before grabbing a fistful of his hair and slamming his head against the wall, effectively knocking him out. The Grounder nodded and murmured her thanks, taking a moment to rest. Elena turned around, only to be met with a fist to the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She groaned quietly but powered through the pain, swinging her head up and connecting it with the guard's jaw, taking advantage of the distraction to grab his collar and punch him in the nose. She heard the decisive crack of his nose and figured that would be enough to keep him down, pushing him back onto the floor. A guard had finally managed to press the alarm, capturing the attention of every guard throughout the camp. Elena's lips curled up into a grin as she panted heavily. It was going exactly how they wanted it to. Her eyes were drifting around the room, observing the different battles taking place, when she caught sight of Bellamy getting up from the ground. Making sure she was quick to get there, he had only just managed to fully stand up when she let her fist fly forward and connect with his jaw. He lurched to the side, instinctively retaliating by throwing a punch at whoever hit him. Elena ducked, just missing his swing and catching his fist in her hand, using his momentum to pull him over her shoulder and slam him onto the ground. Thank you Grounder second lessons, she thought to herself.

"Elena?" Bellamy said breathlessly, wide-eyed. He didn't know whether to be pissed off or impressed as he watched her straddle his waist. He saw her go to grab his wrists and beat her to it, latching onto her's instead.

"I'm sorry but this is the only way," she thrashed against his grip, and thus their power struggle began. Managing to get one wrist free, she punched him across the face again. His head turned due to the blow but he gritted his teeth and bared with the pain, attempting grab hold of her wrist again.

"Bellamy, come in. Bellamy!" Monty's voice called urgently through his radio. Elena's movements faltered as they both listened to Monty.

"Bellamy, the riot's a distraction. Kane's going in for Pi-"

"No!" Elena screamed, yanking Bellamy's radio from his waist and throwing it against the wall, watching as it fell to pieces. Bellamy used her distraction to his advantage, grabbing hold of her and lifting her off of him, rolling her to the side as gently but as quickly as he could. He got up and sprinted out of the area, heading the front gate. "Damn it!" Elena cursed, jumping up and sprinting after him. He had a head start and longer legs, so she couldn't reach him before he ran in front of the rover with his gun aimed at the driver: her father.

"Get the hell out of the way, Bellamy!" She heard her father scream.

"Bellamy-" she shouted but was held back by two guards. "Let go of me!" She thrashed and pushed against them. It was useless. One of them shouted at her to stop before aiming a gun at her head. She froze, swallowing nervously, letting the man tug on her arm. She fell into him and felt his arm wrap around her neck, gun being placed against her temple.

"Hey, Kane!" A man's voice called out to her father. Marcus had been silently debating with himself over what to do when he caught an odd glint out of the corner of his eye and looked around to find a gun being aimed at his daughter's head. Her eyes found his sadly. She knew he'd never continue once he realised her life was at stake. It was over. He allowed the guards to surround the vehicle and free Pike.

"That's enough," Bellamy scowled at the guard holding Elena, "you took it too far." The guard lowered the gun but kept a firm grip on her.

"It got the job done, didn't it?" The man smirked. Elena now recognised him as the man who had acted out at the memorial - Farm Station's very own troublemaker.

"Let her go," Bellamy ordered, voice dangerously low.

"I don't think so," the man chuckled, grabbing hold of her wrists and clipping handcuffs onto them. "We're arresting the traitors, aren't we?" She didn't put up any kind of fight, just stared blankly at the ground.

"Do what he says," an authoritative voice spoke. They all looked over to see Pike approaching them. Elena raised a brow at his order.

The man's grin faltered. "But, Sir-"

"Did you actually see her doing anything wrong?" Pike questioned, clearly not in the mood to be questioned.

"Well, no, but-"

"Then let her go."

"Yes, Sir," he answered after a pointed look, reaching for the key to unlock her wrists. She watched Bellamy nod to Pike as a subtle thank you and curled her lips in disgust when she remembered that he had made a deal with Pike to grant her immunity. Shoving the guard's hands away from her once she was freed, she hastily made an exit, wanting to find Abby so she could inform her of what happened and they could wait for Pike's verdict together. She was barely ten steps away when someone caught hold of her arm and swung her around to face them.

"Let this be a lesson learned, Elena, please," Bellamy pleaded, knowing she was furious but hoping she had realised that it was all over now.

Forcefully snatching her arm away from him, she leaned closer and hissed through clenched teeth, "go float yourself, Bellamy."

* * *

"He's ruined everything, Abby," she threw her hands in the air angrily, pacing back and forth throughout the former Chancellor's room. Abby had let her vent for the most part, simply because she was still in shock over what had happened. "Lexa is giving us the chance to fix things but I don't know how to anymore," Elena admitted, finally coming to a stop. She collapsed onto Abby's bed, turning on her side to look up at Abby, freely showing off the fear in her eyes. "What can we do with Dad locked up? They won't let us see him." It was moments like these that Abby was reminded of the fact that Elena was still just a kid. As were most of the other's who shouldered the heavy weighted responsibilities of protecting themselves and their people. Elena, Octavia, Miller, Harper, Jasper, Monty, Raven, Clarke, Lexa - even Lincoln and Bellamy were still quite young. It was sad to have to watch them go through all of this. Abby sighed woefully as she reached out and petted Elena's hair, it was the only thing she could think to do in order to offer some sort of comfort.

* * *

Elena was sick of waiting around. She wanted answers and she wanted them now. She was a woman on a mission as she trailed through the halls, heading towards the inquiry room. Elena wanted to know how long her father would be locked up for and exactly what Pike had said to him. It appeared as though she'd get her answer sooner that she thought, however, as a group of guards materialised in front of her, dragging her father through the halls. "Dad!" She called out, running over to him. Marcus bowed his head sadly at the sight of his daughter. He couldn't bare the thought of her finding out his fate. "What's going on?" She asked.

One of the guards caught her before she could actually reach her father and pushed her back. "I'm sorry but you can't go near him."

"Why the hell not?" She spat, trying to move past him.

"Because he's not allowed any contact with anyone until-" the man cut himself off. He was angry with Marcus but Elena was still the man's daughter. He couldn't help but sympathise with her.

"He's been sentenced to death," came the smug voice of the Farm Station troublemaker.

"What?" Elena whispered, backing away slightly. "No," she shook her head and looked at her father. "Dad, please tell me it's not true." Her eyes watered at her father's silence. "Tell me he's lying!" She shouted at him. "No," she repeated, pushing past them all and continuing her trek towards the inquiry room. She passed Hannah on her way, ignoring her odd look of distaste and pity she received. Finally making it to the room, she found Bellamy and Monty speaking outside of it. Anger flooded her veins, coursing through her body until she was unable to keep her emotions in check. "You!" She yelled, making the two males jump slightly. Bellamy's face paled once he took in her state. Tears streaming down her face, brow furrowed, jaw clenched. She knew. Marching over to him, she swung her fist at his face with a grunt.

"Elena," Monty murmured, ready to stop her.

"Monty," Bellamy muttered, shaking his head 'no' at his friend. He stood upright, balling his fists up by his sides. "Elena-"

"Are you happy now?" She screamed at him, shoving her hands against his chest. "It's all over. They're killing him!" She sobbed uncontrollably.

"Please," he begged, reaching out to touch her.

"Don't touch me!" She shrieked, flinching away from him. "This is your fault! My father is being killed because you couldn't just let him fix everything!"

"I didn't mean for this to happen, Elena. I didn't know Pike would take it this far, you have to believe me!" He begged, desperate for her to let him comfort her.

She shook her head vigorously. "I have been angry with you, disappointed in you, but I have never, ever felt any hatred towards you," she said in between choked gasps, "until now." Bellamy could feel his heart shattering into pieces. "You've gone too far this time. It's over, Bellamy." Elena ran from him immediately, not wanting to see his heart-broken expression in fear of it changing her mind. Lifting her hand to muffle her cries, she blindly felt for the handle of the door, managing to locate it and let herself into the room she was staying in. She slammed the door behind her, falling back against it and sliding down to the floor, finally allowing herself to let everything out.


	49. Stealing Fire

The loud cries that had once filled the room were now subdued sniffles and hiccups. Elena resided on the bed with her knees pulled to her chest. Grasping desperately at the thin quilt, she knew she needed to get a hold of herself but she was failing miserably. Her world was crumbling to pieces right in front of her and she was completely lost on what to do. A knock on her door made her tense up but she refused to answer it, assuming it was Bellamy.

"Elena, I know you're in there," the voice called out.

Her whole body slumped before she crawled out of the bed, making her way over to the door. She opened it and timidly peered out. As soon as she saw his face, a fresh batch of tears came streaming down her face. "Nate," she whimpered, taking two hesitant steps towards him.

Nate stayed silent as he took in her state. Her skin was pale from shock and nerves, contrasting greatly with her red rimmed eyes. Her lips quivered as the tears still continued to pour, even after what he assumed had been a long time. He sighed and opened his arms for her, wrapping them tightly around her small trembling frame. Elena buried her face into his shoulder and clutched at his shirt. She looked completely and utterly broken. The only time he had ever seen her like this was when she thought she had lost Bellamy and he had never wanted to witness her like it again. He wasn't so lucky. "C'mon, come sit with me and Harper. You shouldn't be alone right now." He gently stroked her hair, something he had seen Bellamy do in tough times, hoping it would soothe her.

"There has to be something we can do," her voice was muffled and got caught in her throat several times but he could just make out the words.

"Let's talk about that when we're less out in the open, okay?" He suggested kindly, pulling away and cupping her cheeks so he could wipe away her tears. She nodded and allowed her friend to lead her to the room they had previously been meeting in.

* * *

Harper's head snapped up immediately as she heard the door open. She relaxed slightly when she saw Nate with an arm around Elena, guiding her into the room. She felt a deep sense of sadness brew within her when she saw the state Elena was in. "Elena," she murmured quietly, standing up to hug her friend tightly.

For the most part, Elena had calmed down. She was no longer crying, instead she just stared blankly at the floor. She accepted Harper's hug gratefully, resting her cheek on the blonde's shoulder. "I'm okay." It was a lie, or maybe it was her attempt at convincing herself she would be okay. "I have to be." She was right, it was time to stop mourning someone who wasn't even dead yet, someone who - if she had her way - wouldn't be dying tonight. They needed a plan of action and fast. For that to happen, they needed someone to take charge. She couldn't sit around crying, waiting for someone to save them. She was the daughter of the man who _should_ be chancellor. She was the girl the grounder commander saw potential in and had her become a second. And she was about to regain control over herself and save her father.

"Sit down," Harper instructed quietly, gesturing to one of the chairs.

Elena denied her offer, waving a hand at her. Taking a deep breath, she wetted her lips before looking at the others. "There has to be some way we can save him."

Nate looked at her like she was crazy. There was no way they could pull something off. "Like what, Elena? If we get caught we'll be-"

"I know, Nate!" Elena stood up abruptly, stepping towards him with a pleading look, "but I can't just sit around, not even trying to save him. He's my father."

"We understand how you feel, Elena," Harper attempted to calm the situation, "but Nate's right. What can we do?"

Elena turned to Harper, shaking her head at her. She didn't want to believe they were completely helpless. She went to argue when they were interrupted by a knock on the door. They all shared a nervous glance before Nate slowly approached the door, willing the girls to stay behind him. He opened the door to reveal Bellamy. Elena tensed up at the sight of him, clenching her fists.

"What do you want?" Nate growled. Bellamy gestured for him to be quiet and let him in. Nate looked back at Elena, who wondered what Bellamy could possibly have to say to them. She nodded briefly, telling Nate to let Bellamy in. In he came, with Monty following close behind him, shutting the door. "What do-" Miller tried again, only to have Bellamy shush him again. Bellamy carefully reached for something in his pocket, which the three rebels immediately assumed was his gun, making Nate and Harper back up, while Elena stepped in front of them. While Bellamy had done a lot of terrible things, she knew he'd never actually kill her…she hoped. She inwardly cursed herself for leaving her sword hidden away in their secret passage way, away from Pike's watchful eyes.

Bellamy quickly raised his hands as a way of showing he meant no harm and approached Nate, reaching for the left side of his guard's jacket. "It's okay," he carefully cut into the material with the knife he had withdrawn, handing it to Nate when he was finished. He pulled out a small device; a bug. Harper scoffed and crossed her arms, glaring at Bellamy and Monty, while Elena gritted her teeth.

Monty wrapped the device up in a bag. "The bag blocks the signal. Now we can talk."

"I for one have nothing to say to either of you," Elena snapped, furious that their own trick had been used against them.

"Elena-" Bellamy tried.

She looked at him, eyes burning with anger. "Especially you."

Nate continued to stare at the bag, getting the horrible feeling that he knew who put the bug there. "Who put it in there?"

Bellamy shook his head. "That's not important right now. Pike just sentenced Lincoln and Sinclair to death alongside Kane."

Elena laughed humourlessly. "Of course he did."

"Are you trying to scare us?" Harper enquired bitterly.

"No," Monty answered quickly "we're here to help. I'm sure you have a plan to break them out. What can we do?"

"What are you talking about?" She played dumb, not trusting them a single bit.

"Harper, come on," Monty pleaded.

"Look, we can help from the inside. To pull this off, we need people to hand them off to on the outside," Bellamy explained, looking at Elena. Right now, she was their best shot of actually getting them to let he and Monty help them save the others.

Nate stepped in front of Elena protectively, slightly obstructing Bellamy's view of Elena. "We seriously don't know what you're talking about."

"You think we want them to die?" Monty asked, getting more and more agitated at their denial.

"Don't you?" Elena pushed past Nate gently. "That's what we do to our own people - I mean, 'traitors' - these days, isn't it?"

Bellamy was growing tired of this. "You know what?" He stepped forwards that he was right in front of Elena and leaned into her. "Forget it. If you and my sister want to save their lives, you meet me at the Dropship in an hour," he proposed, storming out immediately after. Elena sighed a sigh of relief once he was gone.

"Bellamy," Monty called out after him. He turned back to the others. "After everything we've been through, you don't trust me?"

Harper cocked her head at him. "Does your mom know you're here, Monty?" Monty sighed and walked out, shaking his head at them.

"Radio Octavia," Elena ordered, "tell her to meet me at the dropship."

"You're not seriously going to trust them, are you?" Nate asked, wondering if she had lost her mind.

Elena turned to him with a weak, assuring smile. "God no but I need Bellamy out of the way so that nothing can ruin this plan."

Harper frowned, confused. "What plan?"

"The plan we're about to come up with. All we have to do is get the three of them out of lockup and out of camp, right?"

Nate stared at her blandly. "You make it sound so easy."

"It's not going to be," she admitted, "and we're only going to have one shot at this; security is even tighter, now, one wrong move and we're all dead. I can't make you guys do this but I need you for this to work. So are you in?"

Harper and Nate shared a look before grinning. "What do we have to do?"

Smiling gratefully, Elena nodded her thanks. "Nate, we both know who put that bug in your jacket." His smile vanished at the answer. "Get Bryan on our side. I have a feeling we'll need him." Nate nodded, trusting her judgement. "We'll strike when they are bringing my father, Lincoln and Sinclair out for the execution, they'll already be out of lockup so it will be our best shot," she explained. "Okay, Nate, go and talk to Bryan. When you're done, come back here. We still need to figure out exactly how this will work. Harper, radio Octavia, I'm going to meet her at the Dropship, now." She turned to leave but stopped, looking back at her friends. "Thank you."

They both shrugged. "We're practically family now," Nate winked at her, while Harper agreed with a smile.

* * *

Elena had been reunited with her sword, feeling much more secure with had reached the Dropship in no time, leaving her to wait for Octavia. The soft neigh signalled Octavia's arrival. Elena looked around to find Octavia soothing her horse before looking up at her friend and jogging over to her.

Octavia enveloped Elena in a hug. "Are you okay?"

"Not really," Elena confessed sheepishly, "my father was sentenced to death, then I broke up with my boyfriend and then two of friend's were also sentenced to death."

Octavia's jaw dropped and her eyes widened."Wait, you broke up with Bellamy?"

"Yeah, but that's not important right now. We need a plan, O. Nate's working on Bryan, so we'll have a working guard on our side. We can strike when Pike moves the three of them to the execution sight. We're meeting Bellamy soon and can easily get him out of the way. It's everything in-between we need to figure out."

"Okay, well, let's get on the radio," Octavia suggested, reaching for the radio attached to her waist. Turns out that it didn't take long for Nate to get Bryan on their side, as the two had already returned to the room with Harper.

"Bryan's going to be apart of the team moving the prisoner's," Nate informed them.

Octavia perked up at the news. "Good, we can use that to our advantage."

"We need them to come to a stop in somewhere that's easy for us to access," Elena said, trying to figure out the best way to make it happen.

"What if we make it known that we have a plan to help them?" Octavia smirked slyly.

Bryan frowned on the other end of the radio. "Why would we do that?"

Elena caught on to Octavia's train of thought. "To get them right where we want them. That's perfect, O." The silence from the others encouraged her to elaborate. "Pike will already expect us to have a plan. If we use the same frequency they do, we can feed them false information on our plan."

Octavia picked up where Elena left off. "Harper and I can give them false locations to distract them, luring the guards away. With most of them searching for us, they'll only have a couple of guards to spare and want to keep the prisoners in one easy to protect room."

"And we have one guard who can feed Pike this idea, as well as stay behind to guard the room."

Bryan nodded, "sure, I can do that."

"Perfect," Elena replied.

"But what about the other guard? I don't want to have to kill anyone."

"You won't have to," Elena assured him, "Nate, go to medical and tell Abby that Elena needs two syringes of anaesthesia. It will knock him out and O and I can get into the room."

Nate took the radio from his boyfriend. "How are you gonna escape when they figure out something is up and go to check the room? They'll catch you."

"We'll use the Octavia Blake special," Octavia answered, sharing a bitter-sweet glance with Elena. "There's a hole in the floors of the apartments, we'll hide in there until they come and check the room and leave once they're done."

"We'll all meet up and escape through the passage way. Once we're out of camp, we can figure out our next move. Everyone understand the plan?"

Nate's team all nodded. "Yes, boss."

Elena chuckled. "Good."

* * *

Everyone went about their jobs. The two girls who were waiting on the outside took a quick trip back to camp to pick up one syringe of anaesthetic before heading back to the Dropship to await Bellamy's arrival.

Octavia had been pacing back and forth for a while now. "What about Danae and the others?" She asked, not pausing her pacing.

"We'll come back for them. There's nothing we can do for them right now. Our main priority is my father, Lincoln and Sinclair."

Octavia finally stopped, turning to Elena. "Where is he?" They both became alert when they heard footsteps.

Elena inclined her head towards Bellamy's general direction. "Right on time." The walked forward, scanning the area fro any back up he may have brought with him.

"Glad you came," Bellamy said, watching the way they looked around suspiciously. Before, Elena was the easier target, the one who was more likely to convinced since she was the only one whose father was about to be killed but for now, he deemed Octavia the more reasonable of the two. "I'm alone, O. I'm here to help."

Octavia allowed to let a look of relief slip onto her face, lulling him into a false sense of security. She reached out for her brother, as if going to hug him, but instead injected the anaesthetic into his neck. "Sleep well, big brother," she muttered, catching him as he fell unconscious.

* * *

They dragged him back to the cave Octavia and Indra were currently staying in. Bellamy had been chained to the wall and they now sat waiting for the right time to leave. He slowly woke up, willing his vision to focus. Indra and Octavia stood in front of him, glaring at him, while Elena sat leaning against the wall opposite him.

"It was a mistake to bring him here," Indra commented.

Octavia sighed wearily and stood up, "he was out the whole way, and we searched him for bugs."

"You think I'd let them hurt you?" He asked, glancing between the two most important people in his life, hurt by the amount of pure distrust they both held. Elena completely avoided his gaze.

"Shut your mouth," Indra hissed through gritted teeth.

"Indra," Octavia grabbed her arm, "we talked about this."

"You waste time. You should be in their camp by now."

"No," Bellamy protested, "it's suicide. Pike will be expecting you. You won't get close. I can. We can save them, but we have to work together."

"You're the reason they need saving," Octavia accused, taking a step towards him.

"Maybe, but that doesn't change the fact that you need me."

Octavia looked away from him, reigning in her anger, before turning back to him. "For the first time in my life, that's not true," she declared and stormed out of the cave.

"O, O!" Bellamy shouted after her. Elena silently got up and walked out after her, not sparing Bellamy a glance. "Elena, please!"

"Elena," she stopped at the sound of Indra's voice. "The commander has complete faith in you, as do I."

"I won't let either of you down."

* * *

Octavia and Elena crouched the passage way, awaiting Harper's signal. By now, Pike would be collecting the prisoners and moving them.

"Package is on the move. I repeat, package is on the move. We are a go," Harper's voice whispered urgently through the radio. The two girls shared a determined glance before moving out.

Luckily for them, Monty and his mother were listening to them on the radio, just as planned. "She's talking about the prisoners. Whose voice was that?" Hannah asked hers son.

"Oks, is your team in position?"

"Oks."

"Roger that. We're in position and ready to intercept," Octavia replied.

"Octavia kom Skaikru," Hannah realised, reaching for her radio. "Sir, you were right. Octavia Blake is here, and she's not alone."

"On their knees," Pike commanded, watching as the guards forced Marcus, Lincoln and Sinclair onto their knees. "Can you confirm a location?"

Hannah looked at Monty, who shook his head. "Negative, sir."

"Sir," Bryan spoke up, about to execute his role perfectly, "we can assume her friends have already told her where we're taking them. We shouldn't go any further till we know the route's secure."

Pike considered his idea, looking around him for some kind of solution. His eyes fell on the door of an apartment. "Put them in there. Let's go! Move. Move it. Come on." They shoved the three men into the room. "I want two men on the door."

"You got it," Bryan answered.

"Good. Anyone comes out of there, shoot to kill. Anyone enters this corridor, one warning, then shoot to kill. Everyone else on me." And with that, he left.

* * *

After several close calls and some great spy moves, Octavia and Elena made it to the room the three men were situated in. Bryan saw the two from the corner of his eye and swiftly injected the anaesthetic into the other guard's neck, slowly lying him on the floor.

"Good job, Bry, you really pulled through," Elena smiled thankfully, squeezing his shoulder.

"It's okay, I kinda owed you guys, anyway," Bryan shrugged, looking rather sheepish.

Elena shook her head, "well, you're definitely one of us now." He chuckled before lying down on the ground, pretending to be unconscious.

Octavia had opened the door in the time they were talking, nudging Elena to get her attention. "Let's go." She fully pulled the door open, revealing the three men they were there to rescue. Their hands and feet were tied and connected with strong wire.

Elena rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her father's neck. Marcus was surprised to see Elena and Octavia in front of them but didn't dwell on the obvious danger they had put themselves in, opting to be appreciative of the risk they were taking to save his and the others' lives. "We're gonna get out of this, I promise."

"There isn't much time, we have to get in here," Octavia hurried them, lifting the tile from its place in the floor. They all nodded and got inside, barely managing to all fit in the tight space. Octavia replaced the tile and they waited for Pike to come back.

"What's the plan?" Marcus asked.

"Dad, shh, we can't let Pike hear us!" Elena chided him, lightly hitting his arm. The sound of footsteps sounded out above them, hushed, murmuring voices accompanied them.

A loud crash made them jump slightly. "Damn!" They heard Pike curse.

"The guys are alive, sir. They must have drugged them."

"We did what they wanted us to do. That won't happen again." They waited until the footsteps were completely out of hearing range before lifting the tile up and climbing out. Elena and Octavia shared victorious smirks.

"All clear. C'mon," Octavia whispered, helping the others out.

"It's a little bit tight in there," Marcus grunted.

"Try doing it for 16 years," Octavia remarked, cutting his bounds and freeing him. He glanced at Elena, who merely nodded in agreement with Octavia. She walked over to Sinclair, crouched downing front of him and cut the wire restraining him.

"Thank you," he said gratefully.

Elena gave him a fleeting smile, "don't thank me yet, we still need to get out of camp."

Sinclair chuckled, "with you in control, I think we'll be just fine." Elena let out a short laugh and shook her head, standing up and going to check on Bryan. Abby and Miller had just made it to the room. Abby barely gave the other guard a quick glance over before running over to Marcus, after placing a quick kiss on Elena's forehead. Elena grinned at the way Abby looked over her father so carefully and worriedly. It reminded her of the way Bellamy would…she shook her head violently, pushing away those thoughts.

Miller came up beside her, giving her a pat on the head. "You okay?"

She swallowed nervously and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Oks, come in," Harper whispered quietly into Octavia's radio. Octavia and Elena looked panicked, alerting the others.

"What is it?" Lincoln questioned, not liking the looks on their faces.

"This wasn't the plan. We use their frequency so they could hear us," Octavia explained before she spoke to Harper. "Go ahead."

"Stay where you are," Harper urged her, "repeat, stay where you are. The exit is not clear."

"How many guards?"

"Too many. I said, stay put."

* * *

Monty and Hannah were still listening in. "They're trapped," Hannah grinned, knowing they'd be able to stop the traitors.

Monty hesitated. He wanted to be with his mom but they were his friends. They were the ones who had been there for him and they had all been through so much together. He couldn't let this happen. With his decision made, he picked uptake radio. "Calling all guards. The prisoners are headed for the main gate. The prisoners are headed for the main gate. Over."

Hannah grabbed her son's arm, ripping the radio away from him. "Monty, what are you doing?"

"Saving my friends."

* * *

Back in the room, Octavia and Elena shared shocked looks at the sound of Monty's voice.

Elena smiled breathlessly. "Guess Monty will always be one of us, no matter what."

"We're pretty hard to get rid of," Octavia grinned.

"Pike will find out," Marcus stated.

"We don't know that," Abby argued, "what we do know is, we have to move." They all nodded and left the room, following Elena and Octavia to the exit.

"Good, you're here," Harper said, relieved by the sight of them. They opened the exit and started piling in with the weapons. Lincoln waited at the end of the hallway for Octavia to finish up making sure the coast was clear, while Marcus and Elena decided to wait for everyone else to get out.

"Attention, all citizens," a woman's voice rang out from the overhead speakers, "emergency lockdown is in effect. Return to your quarters immediately."

"Okay, Abby, come on. You're next," Marcus ushered her in but Abby stood her ground.

"I'm not going."

"What? Abby, no!" Elena denied her plan vehemently.

Abby smile at the girl who was a second daughter to her and cupped her cheek, stroking it in an incredibly motherly way. "They need someone to show them the way out of the dark."

"We can figure out how to do that from the outside."

"It will be easier from in here."

"But-"

"Elena, that's enough," her father pried her away from the woman gently, pushing her towards Lincoln. "Give us a minute."

The brunette sighed but obeyed her father's wishes, walking over to Lincoln. "Hey," she called out quietly, resting a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "I'm sorry there's nothing we can do for your people right now but we'll come back for them, I promise."

Lincoln nodded gratefully at her, knowing she wasn't one to make empty promises. "I know." They shared a smile.

Elena glanced back at her father and Abby, only to find them kissing. "Woah," she murmured, turning away quickly because that was not something she wanted to see. She was glad the feelings were finally out in the open but that was still her dad and it was still kinda gross. Octavia came bursting through the curtains, grabbing hold of her best friend and boyfriend and dragging them to the exit. Abby passed them on the way, bidding them good luck with a smile.

Just as they were about to climb into the exit, the radio crackled and emitted Pike's voice. "I have a message for the traitors in this camp. There will be an execution today. Either turn yourselves in, or the other Grounder prisoners will die in your place."

Octavia could just see exactly what Lincoln was thinking. "Let's go," she quickly said, pushing him to the passage way. He brushed past her. "No, wait." She grabbed his arm.

"I can't let them die because of me."

"Lincoln, please. We're almost out," Octavia tried to convince him.

"I know what you're feeling, but they're searching the station," Marcus tried to help her, "we need to go now."

"You should," Lincoln told them.

Octavia nodded, knowing he wouldn't listen to them. "Fine. I'm going with you. _Oso throu daun ogeda (we fight together)._"

Lincoln smiled at her, nodding. He stepped forward and cupped her cheek. "I love you," he whispered lovingly before kissing her. Unbeknownst to Octavia, he pulled out a syringe of anaesthetic and injected it into her neck.

"No," she whimpered before falling unconscious. Lincoln picked her up.

"Lincoln, what the hell?" Elena hissed.

"What are you doing?" Marcus asked.

"Same thing you'd do for your people," he told them, not takings eyes off of Octavia. "Just get her out of here," he handed her to Marcus but kept hold of her hand.

Marcus understood and respected Lincoln's wishes, "_ste yuj (stay strong)._"

"You, too."

Elena wasn't quite as understanding. "Lincoln, please don't do this."

Lincoln looked at her and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you for everything, my friend."

Tears gathered in her eyes as she knew he was saying goodbye. She returned the hug tightly, "No, thank you." They pulled away and nodded at each other with mutual understanding and respect. Lincoln took off down the hall while Marcus and Elena got Octavia into the passage, climbing in themselves and sealing it shut.

* * *

When they got outside, they lifted Octavia up onto her horse, waiting for her wake up. The group walked in solemn silence, all thinking about Lincoln and what Pike would do to him.

"Lincoln," Elena heard a whisper from beside her. She looked over and saw Octavia trying to sit up.

* * *

Lincoln had been chained up again and was now being marched outside by a group of guards. Pike's awaiting his presence.

* * *

Octavia weakly pulled herself off of the horse, to the ground.

"O," Elena murmured quietly, leaning down to steady her little sister.

* * *

Lincoln was presented to Pike. He avoided his gaze.

* * *

Elena helped Octavia stumble forward to where she could see Lincoln and Pike talking. She didn't want Octavia to see this - hell, she didn't want to see it herself - but she knew Octavia wouldn't listen to her. She wrapped her arms around her.

* * *

"I can't free your people," Pike paused, "but I can promise they'll be cared for." Lincoln barely nodded at him. Pike backed away, watching as Lincoln was forced onto his knees. "Lincoln of Trikru, you have been sentenced to death in accordance with the Exodus Charter. Any last words?"

"Not for you," Lincoln spoke lowly. Pike walked around him, stopping at his side and reached for his gun. Lincoln looked out at the distance, quietly muttering 'may we meet again' while picturing Octavia's smiling face. Pike pulled the trigger, watching Lincoln's body fall to the ground, creating a big splash.

* * *

"No," Octavia sobbed quietly, glaring at Pike. Elena blinked back tears and pulled Octavia closer to her. She couldn't believe it. Lincoln was dead. He was really gone.


	50. Fallen

**Here's the latest chapter, finally! This season has been incredible so far, I'm looking forward to writing the next few chapters. I really hope you've been enjoying this season of the story so far. I love seeing all the follows this story receives and reading through your comments, it makes me really happy as an author to get the feedback you give me, so thank you! Anyways, on with the chapter~**

* * *

"Octavia," Elena murmured as the smaller girl walked past her, fighting off tears - a breakdown, even. "Octavia!" Elena called out a little louder after Octavia completely ignored her. She jogged towards the girl and lightly grabbed her arm. "O, please."

"Don't!" Octavia snapped, snatching her arm back. Her stride faltered, "please, just don't," she whispered softly, refusing to look at Elena. If she did, she might not be able to hold everything in and be strong for much longer. Elena's outstretched hand dropped down to her side limply as she watched Octavia walk away.

Her father came up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder gently. "Just give her some space." Elena barely nodded in response, too caught up in the feeling of dread. She couldn't even imagine what was going to happen when they got back to the cave, to Bellamy.

* * *

The walk back to the cave was a quiet, sorrow filled one. The tension was thick in the air, almost suffocating. No one knew what to say. What could they say? They had just witnessed their friend's death and, even worse, Octavia had seen it, too.

Miller subtly quickened his pace to catch up to Elena. "How are you holding up?"

She didn't answer his question. She didn't feel like she deserved to. Octavia was the one who had witnessed the murder of her boyfriend; Octavia was the one who was distraught and furious; Octavia was the one who deserved the concern of others. "What is she gonna do to Bellamy when she sees him?" Her face remained passive, eyes trained of the trail ahead of them.

Nate frowned at her. "She can't possibly blame him for this. He wasn't even there."

"That doesn't matter, Nate," Elena stated, shaking her head at his naivety. "Bellamy helped enforce Pike's rules, he was Pike's right-hand man. Of course, she'll blame him and take her anger out on him. Hell, I-" Elena cut herself off, taking in the look of disbelief Nate was giving her.

He stopped and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop, too. "Elena, c'mon, that's not fair."

"'Not fair'?" She raised her voice, making the others, who had walked ahead of them, look back at the pair. Nate waved his hand, ushering them away and turned back to Elena, who lowered her voice. "Nate, he was a part of everything-"

"Yeah, until he offered to help save them."

"Why are you defending him?" Elena hissed, eyes narrowed.

Nate held his hands up to show he meant no harm, an attempt to pacify her. "I'm just saying, he offered to help, Elena. That has to account for something. Besides, isn't Octavia hating him punishment enough, never mind you hating him."

Elena was quiet for a moment and Nate thought he had made her understand, silently cheering to himself. However, it was quite the opposite. She shrugged while shaking her head, "sorry if I don't see it that way," she said quietly, walking off without him. Nate closed his eyes and sighed through his nose heavily.

"Everything okay?" Bryan asked his boyfriend, rubbing his arm and staring at him with worried eyes.

"No, not really," Nate sighed. "We should catch up," he cocked his towards the group who was nearly out of sight before walking off.

* * *

They all filed into the cave where Bellamy had been chained up.

He stood to greet them, watching closely who entered the cave. The first thing Bellamy noticed was the sullen faces. Kane looked at him oddly, an almost pitiful look, like he felt bad about something. Octavia and Elena walked, completely avoiding his eyes. He frowned, moving his eyes back to the entrance, waiting for Lincoln to appear. "Where's Lincoln?" He inquired when the man didn't show up.

Octavia sighed, glancing back in her brother's direction but no directly at him. "Pike put a bullet in his brain." She continued setting her stuff down and taking off her jacket it.

Bellamy's eyes widened. Lincoln couldn't really be dead. He looked towards Elena, who stared at the ground, expression stone cold. He couldn't even begin to imagine what Octavia was feeling. Looking at Elena, he couldn't imagine what not having her around would feel like. Stepping forward cautiously, he attempted to comfort his sister, to let her know how truly sorry he was for the loss of Lincoln. For Pike's actions. "O, O, I am so sorry." Octavia let out a snarl and swung her fist at Bellamy, sending him flying backwards. Everyone became alert immediately, closing in on the siblings to stop the fight. Everyone but Elena, that was. Bellamy looked back at Octavia, who was sent into a blind fit of rage, throwing punches at him continuously, quietly sobbing to herself all the while.

"Octavia, that's enough," Marcus finally spoke up, though he didn't move to physically stop her.

"Kane, stay out of this," Bellamy warned the older man, willingly letting Octavia take her anger out on him. Sinclair and Kane shook their heads, walking away from the two so they didn't have to watch it. Nate glared at Elena expectantly but the brunette merely glanced at him before looking away meekly. She thought Bellamy deserved what Octavia was giving him, she wasn't about to be the one to prevent Octavia from working off the anger on someone who truly deserved it. It may be a twisted way of looking at it, 'violence is never the answer' and all that, but she couldn't help it. Bellamy blindly followed Pike, he was indirectly to blame for Lincoln's death, and if Octavia hadn't of hit him, Elena would have. By this point, Bellamy was truly beaten, nearly unconscious.

Nate was reaching his limit. His former leader, who had once stood tall and proud, was bruised and bloody, lying on the floor. "Stop. That's enough," he tried to grab Octavia but she pushed him back.

"Get out!"

Bellamy gave him the same warning he gave Marcus. "Miller, back up."

It was when Octavia had delivered a few more hard hits and Bellamy had blood dripping from his face that Elena spoke up. Enough was enough and Octavia looked as though she may truly kill him. "Octavia," she said, tone loud but firm.

Octavia stopped, panting heavily, and turned to her best friend, who shook her head once. When Bellamy looked up at her from the floor, she said the words that completely shattered Bellamy Blake's heart. "You're dead to me." She turned away and walked off, anywhere away from him.

Elena allowed her to cool off. Walking over to one of the bags they brought with them, Elena rummaging through it to pull out some bandages or a clean cloth. She came across a cloth and pulled it out, throwing to Bellamy. "Clean yourself up." He didn't respond, too busy trying not to let the tears fall. She sighed harshly, striding over to him and crouching down in front of him. She pulled him up into a sitting position and gripped his jaw in her hand, wiping his face clean of the blood, not attempting to be gentle about it and not once meeting his eyes. "Where's Indra?" She asked, finally speaking up about the grounder woman's absence.

"She's never going to forgive me, is she?" Bellamy left her question unanswered, keeping his eyes fixed on her face.

Two could play that game, Elena thought. "Where's Indra?"

"What about you? Do you blame me? Will you forgive me?"

Elena's eyes snapped to his. "Bellamy!" She shouted, gaining the attention of everyone else. "Answer my question."

He swallowed, mumbling, "she left when she heard the horn. Something about a new commander."

Her body froze up as she stared at him, horror written all over her face. "What did you just say?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. She shook her head, completely in denial. "No, that can't be right. The only way there can be a new commander is if…" she trailed off. She and Lexa had only just reconciled and Clarke - oh god, _Clarke_. Was she okay? Well, no, she wasn't. Elena already knew that much. Was she still safe in Polis? Were they still safe?

"Elena, what is it?" Her father asked, noticing her odd behaviour.

Elena shoved the cloth into Bellamy's hand. He could clean his own goddamn face, she had more pressing matters to deal with. Standing up, she faced her father. "Lexa's dead. There's a new commander."

Marcus furrowed his brow out of confusion. "And how exactly do you know this?" He voiced his confusion.

"Indra left because the horn signalling the rise of a new commander sounded out."

Her father couldn't believe it either. He had liked Lexa, she was an excellent leader and some of her qualities reminded him of his daughter. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to dwell on her untimely passing, he had to figure out how to save his people. "Well, I'll have to speak with the new commander."

"Oh yeah? And what if this commander decides that they want Skaikru to answer for their crimes, huh?" Elena fired back, shutting down his reckless plan. Oh, how the tables had turned. Elena approached him, stopping front of him. "You can't just walk straight into Polis anymore, Dad. This isn't Lexa we're talking about." Her tone was soft, pleading almost, a complete contrast to her earlier tone. She wanted her dad listen to her and hear her words. "We can't know that the new commander won't have you killed immediately."

Marcus placed his hands on her shoulders. "But we can't let our people die without trying to save them. Come on, let's get everyone sitting down together and we'll try to come up with some kind of plan." He began to gather everyone up to sit in a circle, though Bellamy remained chained up off to the side.

Just as Marcus was about to take his place, Elena grabbed his arm. "I mean it, Dad. You can't go to this new commander uninvited."

Of course, Marcus didn't heed her warning. It wasn't in the best interest of their people for him to wait around for the grounders to attack. "Let's just get some kind of plan made for now." Elena sighed as he walked away from her.

"He won't listen to you," Bellamy told her, looking up at her from his place against the wall. She looked at him but didn't reply. "He's stubborn, just like his daughter," his lips quirked up into a brief smirk.

Elena crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. "He could die."

"Doesn't matter to him," Bellamy looked her straight in the eye, "as long as he knows that he at least tried to do what's right for his people, he doesn't care what happens to him."

She scoffed quietly, "yeah, well, look where that got you." She joined the others in their circle, sitting beside Octavia. Giving the girl a quick glance, she was able to see that Octavia had calmed down for the most part. Or rather, she didn't seem quite so murderous, now.

Bryan started off the conversation, wanting to establish a routine to keep them safe in the cave to begin with. "I say we run two-man patrols around the clock, starting now."

"We'll do that," Marcus agreed, knowing it would put everyone at ease, "but we should be safe here. The Grounder blockade is too close for Pike to risk looking for us."

"Yeah, but are we safe from the blockade?"

"As long as we stay this side of the line, we should be."

Bryan only knew what Pike had been feeding his people about the grounders, which essentially was that they were unreasonable murderers. "They're Grounders. You really think they're gonna play by the rules?" Octavia didn't take too kindly to his comment, throwing him a glare as she sharpened her knife.

"Hey," Nate said, rather chidingly, "Pike'll want you dead now, too. We take him out, we can go home."

"We take him out, then the Grounders lift the blockade," Harper stated.

"That's right. We become the 13th Clan again. Those were the terms," Marcus agreed. What they had to do seemed pretty simple his mind.

"Lexa's terms," Sinclair corrected him, "if what Bellamy says is true and she's dead, how do we know the next Commander will honour them?" Elena was glad someone was finally seeing things from her view.

"One problem at a time."

"And Clarke?" Elena presented a new problem. She was worried about her people, don't get her wrong, but Clarke was inside Polis She was surrounded. "If the new commander doesn't honour Lexa's terms, then Clarke isn't safe in Polis. We need to get her out of there, or at least attempt to contact her."

Before Marcus could respond, Octavia did, bitterly remembering how Clarke chose to stay in Polis, rather than going with her and Indra. "Clarke made her choice. The only thing that matters now is killing Pike." Octavia wanted revenge more than anything. Clarke could take care of herself.

Marcus nodded, reluctantly agreeing. He knew Clarke was important to both Elena and Abby but the quickest way to save her was by ending the blockade and re-establishing the coalition. "Octavia's right, Elena. Once we resume our place in the Commander's coalition, Clarke will be safe, so how do we do it?" Elena rolled her eyes at her father's blatant denial of her warnings.

"Bellamy, come in," they all jumped at the sound of Monty's muffled voice coming from the radio. "It's Monty. I'm in trouble. Please say you still have your radio." Elena picked up the radio, which had been beside her, but hesitated to answer it.

Sinclair placed his hand on her arm, "if we respond and Pike's listening-"

"Go to channel 7," Bellamy instructed, elaborating when everyone looked at him, confused. "'Please say you still have your radio.' That's 7 words after the word "trouble." It's code. Go to 7."

"Bellamy, are you there?" The static voice of Monty asked. Elena didn't take her eyes off of Bellamy, however, obvious distrust still clearing her eyes.

He gave her a pointed look. "It's Monty, Elena."

"I'm not sure it's a good idea," Sinclair muttered to her.

Elena looked at him. "Monty was on the same side as him. I trust that he'd want to save him." She explained calmly, going to channel 7 and bringing the radio up to her lips. "Monty, it's Elena. What's going on?"

"Pike knows that I helped you get out," Monty informed her.

She sighed and gave a pleading look to her father. "We have to help him."

There was a beat of silence before Marcus nodded. Ask him if he can get to the dropship.

"Think you can make it to the Dropship?" She asked Monty.

"I think so," he replied.

"Perfect," she breathed a sigh of relief. "Go there. I'll come and meet you. Stay off the radio, okay?"

"Hold on, Elena, I never agreed to you going alone," her father said, holding a hand up to pause her movements.

"Sorry, Dad, but you don't get to call the shots anymore. It was us who saved you, remember? If there's a plan, you best believe that I'm going to be a part of it, instead of doing whatever it is that you tell me to do. Now, Monty saved our lives, so I'm going to the dropship to meet him and I'm sure Octavia will be joining me. If Pike's waiting for us, we'll kill him," she shrugged nonchalantly, "or at least capture him for the grounders. That's the plan. Feel free to join," she waved both hands out to the side as if presenting an offering to him. Marcus was taken aback, to say the least. The others merely smirked at Elena's scolding.

"To stop me, you're gonna have to kill me," Octavia said matter-of-factly, wholeheartedly agreeing with Elena.

"She hopes it's a trap," Bellamy commented, knowing Octavia wanted to kill Pike.

"Fine," Marcus stuttered out after regaining his wits. "But we keep the group small."

"Fair enough," Elena nodded.

Octavia looked back at her brother, "he's coming, too. We'll need a hostage to trade for Monty so we can get him to safety before taking out Pike."

Marcus looked at Octavia and Elena with pride his eyes. They were really turning out to be excellent warriors. "It's a good plan. He stays chained. Gag him."

"Sir," Nate was hesitant about going through with the plan. He thought the last part was a bit much. "With all due respect-"

"Nate," Elena said softly, "we still have to consider him the enemy," she looked directly Bellamy as she said this. He looked away from her, hurt.

"Do what I said," Marcus demanded, making Nate sigh but do as he was told.

* * *

They entered the sight of the dropship with weapons ready. Octavia and Elena held their swords up, Marcus had his gun aimed. Bellamy tied and gagged and pushed in front of them. Elena couldn't help but think of the memories being in this place brought up.

"Monty?" Marcus called out, looking for any sign of the boy. "We got here first." The took a couple of steps closer to the dropship.

"No, we didn't," Octavia murmured, seeing the curtain move slightly. She grabbed Bellamy out of Marcus' hold and walked forward, holding her sword to his neck. Elena's stomach churned at the sight of the girl aiming her sword at her brother. It was something she could never have dreamed about seeing. Bellamy didn't even react, completely expecting Octavia's behaviour. It was all so wrong.

Marcus let out a quiet protest, unsure of what was going on. "Hey, what are you doing?" Elena, however, had noticed the same thing as Octavia and told her father to leave Octavia be.

"Get outside, now!" The youngest Blake screamed. Monty timidly came out from behind the curtain but Elena didn't believe he was alone. Not for a second.

She stood beside Octavia. "All of you," she ordered loudly. Pike came out from behind the curtain, holding a gun to Monty's head.

"They followed me. I'm sorry," Monty apologised, hoping they'd understand that he didn't plan this.

"Let him go, Pike," Marcus demanded.

"Can't do that," Pike answered simply, lifting his radio to his mouth. "One at their feet." A bullet was fired at the ground beside them. "It's over. Put down your weapons."

"Shoot him," Octavia hissed to Marcus.

He couldn't, though. Not with Pike being so close to Monty. "Monty's in the shot."

"Come on, Marcus," Pike said. They shot at the three again. I promised Monty's mother that I'd bring him home alive. Don't make me a liar," Pike taunted them. Marcus lowered his gun, not wanting Monty to get hurt - or worse, killed.

"Kane, no," Octavia exclaimed as she watched him throw his gun to the ground.

"Now, you two," Pike instructed the girls. Octavia quickly swung her sword around so that it was across Bellamy's throat.

"What are you doing?" Marcus whispered.

"No, wait, Dad, let her try it." Elena realised that Octavia might be doing just the right thing. Bellamy was Pike's right-hand man, he wouldn't want to lose a valuable asset like that.

"One in the girl's leg," Pike muttered into the radio. As soon as Bellamy heard that, he decided to take matters into his own hands, worrying about what they'd do to his girls if he let this play out. He quickly ducked out from under Octavia's sword, grabbing her arm and twisting it so that she fell to the ground.

"Octavia!" Sheathing her sword to avoid using it (she didn't want to actually kill him), Elena punched Bellamy in the face, knocking him back but before she could advance in her attack, Pike whistled and the shooters showed themselves, shooting at their feet. She was so distracted by trying to not get hit by a bullet that she didn't notice Bellamy coming up behind her and throwing his arms around her, bringing one up to wrap around her neck tightly, slightly cutting off her air supply. More of Pike's followers ran out and caught hold of Kane and Octavia, tying their hands up and holding them at gunpoint. Bellamy's grip slackened, allowing Elena to breathe properly as a man came up to them and grabbed her out of his hold, tying her hands together.

Pike approached Bellamy, taking the latter's beaten and dishevelled appearance. "You don't look so good."

"I'm fine," Bellamy asked, looking at Elena, who glared at him angrily.

"You got about 5 seconds to make me believe you're still with me."

"All the others are in a cave not far from here."

Octavia lost it at that. She yanked her hands away from the guard tying her up and launched herself at Bellamy. "You son of a bitch!" She screeched. A guard hit her with his taser, making her fall to the ground unconscious.

"O!" Elena shouted, grabbing hold the guard's jacket and bringing him forward as she headbutted him, making him fall backwards. She ran over to Octavia and made the girl lay on her back, shaking her gently to try and wake her. "Octavia, come on, wake up!" A cloth appeared in front of her, being placed over her mouth, and something yanked her back, resulting in a small squeal from Elena out of shock. They had gagged her to keep her quiet.

"Give me the coordinates," Pike said, after watching the little scene unfold.

"I don't have the coordinates, but I can take you there," Bellamy offered.

Pike accepted it. After all, Bellamy was on his side. "Gag the other two, pick up the girl and let's go."

One guard pulled Elena up and started walking with her but Bellamy quickly grabbed hold of her arm. "Sir, let me take her." Pike looked reluctant to allow it since he knew it wasn't wise for Bellamy to be so close to someone he'd do anything for. "Please," Bellamy pleaded. Reluctantly, Pike nodded.

* * *

Elena swiped her arm back from him, moving away from him for about the 5th time during their walk. They were up ahead, leading the others, though, Elena didn't actually recognise the way they were going. Not that she'd say anything - even she could. "Hey," he growled at her behaviour, "would you rather I let someone who doesn't care about your comfort in the slightest walk with you." She knew he had a point. She wasn't exactly the most popular person amongst Pike's crew. So she allowed him to yank her back to him, tugging hard enough to make her body crash into his, giving Bellamy the perfect excuse to position his lips by her ear. "Just trust me on this, okay?" He murmured, his words being muffled by her locks, allowing him full discretion. Her brows knitted together out of confusion as she looked up at him suspiciously. "Please, Princess." Her heart ached, yearning for simpler times when she could relish in the nickname. When she made no attempt to argue with him in any way, shape or form, he decided that she trusted him. For now, at least.

"You sure about the route?" Pike asked, catching up to the pair. "We're getting close to the blockade line."

"That's why Kane set up out here. He didn't think we'd risk it." Bellamy risked a glance at Elena, who had her eyes set on him, still wondering what he was up to.

"He was wrong."

"What's gonna happen to my sister?" Octavia's ears perked up at this as she watched her brother and Pike closely, "I know she has to answer for her crimes, but-"

"Tell you what. I'll make you the same promise I made to you about your girlfriend," Pike looked at Elena from the corner of his eyes, who narrowed her gaze at him, before returning his eyes to Bellamy. Elena glanced back at Octavia, who raised a brow at her when she heard about the deal. Elena shrugged. She knew Bellamy had made a deal but its wasn't like it was her choice and she couldn't do anything to change it. "And to Monty's mother, immunity from all past actions, but if she screws up again…"

"Oh, she won't. I'll make sure of it. My sister, my responsibility."

* * *

They reached a hill and were about to slip down it when Pike made everyone stop. "Hold on."

"The cave is just on the other side," Bellamy assured him, beginning to climb down the hill. He turned back and held his hands out to Elena, offering to help her down. She stared at his outstretched hands before looking back up at his face, repeating the process a couple of times. "Elena." Her eyes snapped back up to his as she opted to take his hands, relieved that she did when she stumbled down the hill slightly on her first step. She fell face first into Bellamy's chest, feeling his arms wrap around her waist. Peering up at him, her breath caught in her throat as she found herself getting lost in the eyes that she had attempted to not stare at for too long, unless incredibly angry. Bellamy was just happy to have her inches arms again with her eyes on him, minus the hostility he had recently been receiving.

"Keep a sharp eye out," Pike's sharp instruction made her jump, bringing her back to reality as she put some distance in between herself and Bellamy, much to his disappointment. They eventually reached the bottom, resulting in the screeching of horns being blown. "The blockade!" Everyone scanned the area. Behind trees, up above, down below - everywhere. The grounders were too good. "Anybody got eyes? Back up. Back to higher ground."

Bellamy suddenly let go of Elena, grabbed his gun and aimed it at Pike. "Drop your weapon."

"What the hell are you doing?" Pike shouted, not believing Bellamy just turned on him.

"Drop your weapon!" If Elena didn't have the stupid gag her mouth, she may have smiled. Possible. She and Octavia caught on to Bellamy's plan quickly and began kicking and punching Pike's men, either disabling them from attacking or knocking them out completely.

"We bring you Chancellor Pike of the Sky People." He looked at his sister and ex-girlfriend. "Elena, O., translate." The girls reached up and pulled their gags off.

"_Osir lid yo in Chansla Paik kom Skaikru (We bring you Chancellor Pike of the Sky People)._" Elena shouted, making sure they'd all hear her.

"You killed us all!" Pike accused Bellamy, who still had a gun pointed at him.

Bellamy ignored him, though. "Take him. Lift this blockade."

"_Teik em in, ban disha treibloka we! (Take him, lift this blockade!),_" Octavia translated. Arrows were suddenly fired at Pike's followers, killing them all, as grounders began to surround them. Octavia grabbed a knife from one of the dead guards and aimed at Pike, letting out a grunt before slashing it towards him but Marcus stopped her just in time.

"No! Hey, no. No," he pulled his gag off, "the Grounders are gonna need him alive. They didn't get justice for Finn. We won't get away with that again."

"In that case…" Pike went for Bellamy but the grounders shot him and kicked him to the ground. Bellamy lowered his gun, grabbing a knife from another guard and cutting Elena's bounds for her. She didn't thank him verbally, merely nodding at him and rubbing her sore wrists.

"Where are you taking him?" Marcus inquired.

"To the new Commander," A masked grounder replied

"May I join you?" Marcus pushed his sleeve up and showed his marking. "We're the 13th Clan."

"Don't slow us down."

"Dad-" Elena started but Marcus cut her off.

"Elena, I have to do this."

"I was just going to say make this new commander listen," she smiled weakly, hugging her father.

He gladly accepted her hug. "I will. Go home. Tell our people what happened here. I'll look out for Clarke, so let Abby know that, okay, Kiddo?"

She nodded against his shoulder. "Stay safe."

"You, too." He let her go, watching her walk over to Octavia and cut the rope around her hands for her. He approached Bellamy. "Did you do this for Elena and your sister or because it was the right thing to do?" The two girls turned at the sound of their names, watching the exchange closely.

"You're welcome," Bellamy avoided the question, about to walk away but Marcus grabbed his arm.

"It matters. Until you see that," Marcus paused, "you'll still be lost." And with that lasting impression, he walked off after the grounders. Bellamy walked over to Monty, who was staring at the ground sadly.

"My mom turned me in," he admitted to Bellamy, face completely crestfallen.

Bellamy patted his arm comfortingly. "You're family," he looked at the girls, "you'll work it out." Elena looked away from him. She wasn't so sure of that. One of Pike's men suddenly woke up, gasping for air.

Octavia quickly picked up the knife and brought it down on him, piercing his heart and killing him. "_Jus drein just daun,_" she told Bellamy when their gazes met.


	51. Nevermore

**Sorry for the wait! Here it is ^_^**

* * *

Elena stared into the roaring fire, the flames flickering and dancing around. Right now, she'd liken Octavia to fire: one wrong move and she'll burn you. Elena was surprised she hadn't made a move to leave yet. Instead, Octavia stayed, glaring angrily at the fire, the heat of her glare competing with the heat of the flames. She could understand O's pain, really she could. Having someone you love more than anything killed right in front of your eyes, and having someone else you love unconditionally playing a part in that death. Her father had watched his wife - her mother's - murder. He did nothing to save her. Elena had managed to forgive him and move past that point with her father, but she knew Octavia. Octavia wasn't ready or willing to do that. In her eyes, Bellamy was as much to blame for Lincoln's death as Pike was and Octavia couldn't - _wouldn't _\- let that go. Admittedly, Elena had viewed it that way, too, for a brief period of time. She even yelled at Nate about it. But Bellamy didn't explicitly kill Lincoln. Did he side with the wrong person? Yes. Did he help carry out immoral, unjust acts? Yes. But now that Elena had had some time to cool off and think about it, she didn't believe that Bellamy supported the death punishment, he wouldn't have offered to help them otherwise, nor would he have supported the threat of killing Lincoln's friends. She was so confused. Bellamy did terrible things and she was still furious, quite rightly so. Elena couldn't see herself getting back together with him right now, nor could she forgive him just yet. But was she - and Octavia - punishing him for something he played no part in? Elena didn't know anymore. Her inner conflict was brought to an abrupt end when Octavia brashly stood up and began to pack a bag. Elena had known it was only a matter of time before Octavia cracked and attempted to leave the suffocating, tension-filled cave.

Octavia's brother was quick to noticed Octavia's leaving, too, jumping up immediately to stop her. "O, wait. You can't just leave," Bellamy stated, holding to her wrist tightly. He didn't want her to leave, because not only would that mean putting herself in danger, but he'd never get the chance to show her how truly sorry he was.

Octavia glared fiercely at her brother, yanking her wrist away from him and challenging him. "Watch me." She, on the other hand, was sure she'd never forgive Bellamy - for anything. It was too late, he had gone too far. The only thing worth staying for now would be her relationship with Elena, but she knew Elena would understand. At least, she thought she would.

"You heard what Jasper said on the radio. Arkadia is not safe."

"What Jasper said sounds insane," Elena couldn't argue with that, but they couldn't risk losing Octavia. "Pike's gone. I can handle myself. Grounders burn their dead."

Bellamy nodded at her, understanding that she wanted to bury Lincoln's body. "I know that, and then what? Where you gonna go?"

"You don't get to ask me that."

"What more do I have to do to prove that I am on your side?"

"Bring Lincoln back," Octavia spat, pushing past her brother. That was all she truly wanted. She just wanted Lincoln back. "Turning Pike in does not make you one of the good guys, Bellamy. You did that to save me and Elena, not because what you thought Pike was doing to the Grounders was wrong."

"The Grounders were starving us out," Bellamy wasn't about to let her go without an argument.

"Because you massacred an army that was sent to protect us," she shouted in retaliation, stepping closer to him. Elena could tell Octavia was getting more and more riled up. It wouldn't be long until she swung another punch at Bellamy.

"That army could've attacked us at any time, and you know it."

"But they didn't attack. You did that. You were hurting, and you lashed out because that's what you do. There are consequences, Bell. People get hurt. People die, your people. Monroe's dead. Lincoln is dead."

Both siblings were getting too into the argument, saying things that only caused harm to the other. Elena stood between them, holding her hands out towards both of them, intervening loudly. "Okay, that's enough!" She alternated her glances between the two, who both looked back at her. "Both of you." Focusing on Octavia, she grabbed the bag from the younger girl's hands, moving away when Octavia tried to grab it back. "Octavia, you are not leaving. You can at least wait until Jasper is here," she told her firmly, making Bellamy feel relieved to seemingly have someone on his side. Octavia glared at Elena - someone she thought was on her side - who merely stood her ground and returned the look. Octavia eventually gave up, knowing Elena wouldn't give up, and huffed slightly before walking to the corner of the cave and sitting on the ground with a loud thud.

Bellamy sighed a sigh of relief, stepping towards Elena and reaching out for her hand. "Thank you."

Elena threw the bag to the side, avoiding Bellamy's outstretched hand. "I did that for Octavia," she told him gently, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. "Bellamy, Octavia didn't like you trying to dictate her life before, so she sure as hell doesn't like it now." He began to argue but she didn't give him chance to. "You need to give her some time and space, it's the only way you're going to get her back." Bellamy gritted his teeth, annoyed. Clearly, Elena hadn't forgiven him either. Sensing his annoyance, Elena tried to give him some insight into the situation. Very hesitantly, she grabbed his hand to stop him from turning away from her. His eyes snapped to hers, the hopeful look clear as day to see. "Look, I get why you're mad, okay? I know you had nothing to do with Lincoln's death. But Pike did, he killed Lincoln and Octavia watched it." Elena sighed heavily, "Bellamy, Pike's not here right now. Octavia needs someone to blame. You're just," she paused, searching for the right wording. There wasn't really a good way to put this, though, "the best person to blame, right now."

Bellamy shook his head, he couldn't accept that. It wasn't fair. He clutched onto Elena's hand tightly but she immediately pulled away, as if she had been burned. Ouch. "But I didn't kill him, Elena-"

"That doesn't matter! You were part of Pike's group. As far as Octavia is concerned, you're as much to blame as Pike."

Scoffing, Bellamy shook his head at her. "As far as Octavia's concerned, or you?"

Elena swallowed heavily, looking up at the ceiling of the cave in an attempt to keep any tears from escaping, before returning her gaze to Bellamy. "I don't know, anymore," she whispered, shrugging her shoulders.

Nate came running into the cave, effectively ending Bellamy and Elena's discussion. "They're here." Elena nodded and began walking out of the cave with Bellamy and Octavia hot on her heels.

* * *

The rover pulled up and out stumbled Clarke and Jasper.

Jasper rushed around to the back and grabbed the unconscious Raven out of the car. "Need your help! We have to get her inside before she wakes up." Bellamy ran over to him, while Elena remained place, waiting for Clarke to reach her.

"What happened?" Elena asked Clarke and Jasper, glancing over the unconscious girl.

"I'll explain once we get inside," Jasper replied, struggling under Raven's weight slightly.

"Give her here," Bellamy offered, taking Raven out of his arms. "Were you followed?" He began walking to the cave.

"Maybe. I-I don't know."

Nate turned to Bryan, shoving a radio into his hand. "Get to the ridge. Radio if you spot anyone following. Harper, we'll stay here on watch." Bryan nodded and ran off, while Harper and Nate got into position, readying their guns.

Elena took one look at Clarke, who seemed to be even paler than usual, and knew something was terribly wrong. "Clarke, what is it?"

Clarke's lips began trembling as her eyes met Elena's. "They got my mom." Elena immediately brought the blonde into her arms. Lexa was dead and now this thing had Abby. That was a lot for one person to handle in a short amount of time. Clarke hugged back tightly, relaxing slightly at the comforting feeling of her best friend's hug.

Pulling back, Elena ushered her best friend into the cave before turning back to watch Octavia hover around the entrance. "O, please come inside. We need you here." Sighing, Octavia jogged over to her and the two brunette's entered the cave together.

* * *

They laid Raven down on the ground gently.

"What the hell happened?" Sinclair asked, checking over Raven.

"I told you on the radio. Raven is not Raven anymore. None of them are," Jasper explained. "Jaha has been chipping everyone.

"Jasper's right," Clarke backed him up, trying to be helpful. "I've seen it with my own eyes."

"I don't need your help, all right?" He snapped angrily, obviously still angry with Clarke. He pointed at her accusingly, while approaching her.

"Jas," Elena placed her hand on his shoulder and, for once, he didn't flinch or push her away. Guess her theory about him projecting his anger towards Clarke onto her was right. "Just calm down and explain," she instructed gently.

Jasper looked at her and nodded. "Jaha is using the chips to control everyone. You swallow it, and it changes you," he looked around at everyone. "You forget who you are, and then you see this thing, A.L.I.E., only she's not really there. She made Raven slit her own wrists. She was trying to get it out of her head. I was trying to help her, but…" he trailed off.

"Okay," Sinclair approached Jasper, desperate to help Raven, the only family he had left, "so let's help her now. Did she say how?"

"She was working on building something. She needed one of our old wristbands but Jaha destroyed all of them."

"Wait a second," Clarke muttered, pulling something out of her pocket. "Does it look like this?"

"Not exactly," Jasper answered sharply.

Suddenly, Raven got up, punching and pushing Jasper out of the way before running outside. Everyone snapped out of their shock and began running after her.

"Don't let her get away!" Clarke screamed so that Harper and Nate could try and get Raven.

"It's just woods. I can't see anything," Raven groaned, spinning around to try and find some sort of defining feature. Miller and Harper caught her but she began struggling violently. "Let me go!" The others caught up to them and helped them try to pacify Raven.

"If Raven finds out where we are, so will A.L.I.E. She'll come for her," Jasper informed them. Jasper injected something into her, knocking her out. "Reaper stick, last dose."

"We have to go," Clarke said suddenly, making everyone stare at her, confused.

"Why? A.L.I.E. doesn't know where we are," Bellamy asked.

"Because I know where we can get a wristband."

* * *

Bellamy pulled the rover up to the trading post they had visited before. Niylah stood in front of it, removing her blade from its sheath once she saw them come to a stop.

"I'll talk to her," Clarke assured them.

"I'll go with you," Bellamy said but Elena stopped him.

"Actually, I'll go with you. Seems less threatening when you're not carrying a gun," she stated coldly, making Bellamy roll his eyes but allow her to go anyway.

Octavia opened the door and they all climbed out. "I thought you said she was a friend," she muttered to Clarke once she saw Niylah's blade.

"We'll handle it. Just stay here," Clarke told her, walking over to the woman with Elena.

"Skaikru is not welcome here, Wanheda," Niylah looked at Clarke distastefully.

"Niylah, what's wrong?"

"She's waking up! Hurry. We have to get her inside," they heard Sinclair say.

"Is your father here?"

"My father's dead," she spat, "part of an army killed by your people while trying to protect you." Elena looked back at Bellamy, who had followed the girls. He avoided her gaze, instead looking guiltily at the ground. Good.

Seeing Clarke wasn't getting anywhere with this, Elena tried. "Niylah, please," she began, making the grounder woman look at her, "I wasn't a part of that and I promise no harm will come to you. All I'm asking is that you let us stay here for a while, please," she begged.

Niylah seemed to be battling with both options, looking slightly conflicted but alas she chose not to trust them. "I said no."

"We haven't got time for this," Bellamy murmured, lifting his gun up. "Move. Move!" He barked, making Niylah back up. "Get her in there," he told the others, who ran past him to set Raven down. Niylah could only watch as they all walked into her home.

"I told you, my mom was here. If she was chipped, A.L.I.E. would know," Monty warned them all, knowing that his mother could recognise this place easily. While they all went into the back to handle Raven, Bellamy and Elena remained in the other room with Niylah. Bellamy had his gun aimed at the grounder and Elena was by his side, wanting to keep an eye on him. She couldn't believe that he actually threatened her to get into her home.

"That's why we're putting her in the back," Clarke remarked, leading them to the room behind the actual trading post. "Through there."

* * *

"No! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!" Was all the three in the other room could hear as the others struggled to tie Raven down. It was hard for Bellamy and Elena to hear the tortured screams of their friend but they knew it had to be done. Niylah just couldn't decipher what the hell was going on. Sinclair, Monty and Clarke all came out from the back, looking rather exhausted.

"How the hell do we get that thing out of her head?" Clarke asked.

"Working on it," Monty answered.

Knowing they were the best people for the job, Clarke accepted his answer and walked over to Niylah, Elena and Bellamy. "I got this."

Bellamy nodded. "I'll be right here," he assured her.

Elena smiled briefly at Clarke before grabbing Bellamy's arm and pulling over to the corner of the room. "I can't believe you just threatened her with a gun to let us invade her home," she gritted her teeth and crossed her arms over her chest.

Bellamy scoffed loudly. "Yeah, well, your method didn't seem to be working very well. We needed to get inside before Raven woke up."

"There are better ways to get what you want, Bellamy."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know," Elena pretended to think carefully, "maybe we could have explained to her what was going on?"

"And how the hell do we explain that?" He inquired. 'There's an A.I. in our friend and we think it's trying to brainwash us all' sounded completely crazy. "It would have taken too long. Besides, clearly she's angry and scared of us! I doubt she would have let us in even if we had explained."

Elena glanced at Clarke and Niylah, making sure they weren't listening to them, which they weren't. "Yeah, because her father was killed in the massacre that you took part in," Elena hissed.

Bellamy was taken aback, hurt written all over his face. "It always comes back to that, doesn't it?" He asked quietly, like all the fight had left him.

"Yeah," she nodded, "it does, because that's the moment when I knew that you had become this completely different person who I didn't like. I guess that was when I knew that I had completely lost you to Pike and your need for revenge." The sound of a door slamming shut disturbed their conversation. Looking round, they noticed Niylah had left the room.

Clarke took note of their sullen expressions. "You guys okay?" Neither of them answered for a moment.

Elena, however, figured it best to brush it all off for now and focus on Raven. "Yeah, fine," she answered nonchalantly, making Bellamy look other questioningly, wondering how she could just push it all to one side like that. "Where did Niylah go?" She redirected the focus of the conversation on something other than herself and Bellamy.

"She went to go get a wristband."

* * *

Niylah had given them access to another small, quiet room where they could work on the Raven's contraption.

Clarke set the wristband down on the table. "Niylah said we can work in here. So how do we do this?"

"We think Raven wanted to use this wristband to generate an EMP," Sinclair explained, though it meant little to Clarke, Elena and Bellamy, "which is freakishly brilliant," he let out a short laugh.

"Raven is a genius," Elena commented, nodding to herself.

"Meaning what?" Bellamy questioned Sinclair from his place against the wall, where he was leaning with his arms crossed.

"A targeted electromagnetic pulse could destroy the chip's circuitry. We could use this to send an EMP along Raven's own nervous system. Just need to reverse the polarity, wire for external input and attach a battery."

Clarke didn't understand much of what he just said, she just wanted to know whether it would hurt Raven. "But what would that do to her?" The blonde asked, worried about her friend.

"EMPs don't affect our bodies," Sinclair assured her, "but I don't know the mechanics of how this chip integrates with her brain."

Despite this, Bellamy had faith in Raven. "This was Raven's plan. She wouldn't do it if it was gonna destroy her brain."

Octavia, who had been listening in from the other side of the curtain, slipped into the room and stood beside Elena. "Depends how bad she wanted it out."

Elena sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I guess it's either live like that," she inclined her head towards the other room, where Raven resided, "or go through with this risky plan."

"Regardless, without an electromagnet this is just talk," Sinclair told them, getting the conversation back on track.

Elena nodded, understanding that they clearly didn't have all the right materials yet. "Okay, so where do we get one of those?"

There was a beat of silence between them all before Sinclair gave them an answer no on would like. "The Ark. Every station had a pulsed inductive thruster for manoeuvring."

"Arkadia is out of the question," Bellamy quickly shut down the idea, "it's too dangerous. You heard them."

"We use the Dropship," Monty supplied a helpful alternative, "it has P.I. thrusters just like the Ark."

"That's good," Sinclair praised him, "okay. I'll go salvage a magnet."

"Uh, no," Monty quickly stopped him, "you should stay with Raven and figure out how this thing works. I'll take the rover, be back by the time you finish the device."

"I'll go with you," Octavia offered. Monty nodded and the two began to walk out. Bellamy stepped forward towards O, obviously about to argue about her going. "Don't," she glared at him, cutting him off before he could stop. She walked out of the room with a small huff.

"She can handle this," Elena stated, sending Bellamy a warning look.

"Guys!" They heard Jasper yell from the room he and Raven were in. They all shared startled looks before rushing into the room. "Guys!" Raven biting at the ropes and her bleeding wrists was the sight they were greeted with. Jasper stood in front of the bed, too shocked to figure out what to do.

"Stop her!" Clarke ordered, running to Raven's side as Elena and Bellamy ran to the other side. Clarke and Elena attempted to gently push Raven's head away from either of her wrists, whilst trying to tend to each wound. "She's reopened her wounds."

"Get away from me. Get away from me," Raven snarled, thrashing around and trying to push them away from her.

"At this rate, she'll bleed to death," Elena panicked, trying to keep pressure on Raven's left wrist.

"We need bandages!" Clarke said, looking around the room for some.

"I got her," Bellamy told them, tightening the rope around Raven's torso to prevent her from moving too much.

Clarke finally found some bandages, getting to work on wrapping them around her friend's wrists, though it was extremely difficult with Raven constantly moving. "Raven, stop fighting us."

"A.L.I.E., A.L.I.E., A.L.I.E.!" Jasper shouted, thinking A.L.I.E. might reply. "I believe...I know you can hear us. Why are you doing this to her? Let her go."

Raven's posture suddenly straightened up and she turned her head to Jasper. Her accent became sharp with every syllable pronounced carefully. "I'll let her go when you give me what I want," she turned her head to Clarke, "the technology that Clarke carries, it belongs to me."

Clarke's lip curled into an angry sneer. "No way."

"Clarke, just give it to her," Jasper demanded, wanting Raven to be freed of A.L.I.E.'s control. "Clarke!"

The blonde didn't respond, obviously thinking up some other way to get A.L.I.E. to leave Raven alone. "If you let Raven die, you'll never get it," Clarke threatened the A.I.. It clearly worked as Raven stopped struggling, keeping her eyes fixed on the space in front of her.

"Okay, we need to work fast," Elena told them, reaching over to untie one of Raven's wrists, making sure to avoid the rope touching the wounds too much.

"Hold her steady," Clarke instructed as she grabbed hold of Raven's arm, readying to push it back into place. Raven stared at her unnervingly the entire time. Letting out a quiet grunt, Clarke managed to fix Raven's dislocated shoulder. She took a step back, observing Raven, who was sat quietly, allowing Elena and Jasper to fully get the rope off of her wrists.

"Clarke, she's never gonna stop trying to get away," Bellamy sighed, tiredly, "we can't let her hurt herself again. Someone has to stay with her."

Clarke nodded, fully agreeing with him. "I'll be first watch. We'll take turns."

Jasper had had enough of Clarke's orders. He wasn't about to let her come back and take charge after she abandoned them. She had no right. "You don't give the orders, Clarke!" Clarke was speechless.

"Guess he doesn't forgive you for murdering his girlfriend," Raven commented snidely. She was ignored.

"Jasper, take a break," Bellamy said. They didn't need any more arguments right now.

Elena gently placed a hand on Clarke's shoulder, who turned to look at her with a hurt expression on her face. "Bandage her wrists up, I'll talk to him."

"I'll go with you," Bellamy offered, not wanting to leave Elena alone with Jasper after the way he had been treating her recently.

"I don't need your help," Elena snapped. She didn't need a babysitter.

"You haven't exactly been his favourite person lately."

She couldn't deny that but things between her and Jasper would be different now, wouldn't they? "Whatever," she muttered, storming out of the room without bothering to wait for him.

* * *

Jasper was sat at a table, fiddling with the handcuffs that were still attached to one of his wrists.

"Jasper…" Elena started but didn't quite know how to finish. She felt Bellamy's presence behind her as she walked over to the side of the desk.

Luckily, Jasper spoke up, meaning she didn't have to. "I thought you were just like her, so I could blame you for Maya's death and I'd feel better."

Elena swallowed nervously and nodded, "I figured as much."

Jasper's lips lifted at the corners, the beginnings of a smile. "And you let me treat you like that, even though it wasn't your fault."

She crouched down beside him, peering up at him. "You were grieving, Jas. I just wanted to help you."

Tears gathered in Jasper's eyes as his lips quivered. He nodded lightly, turning around in his seat to face Elena. "You're nothing like her: you didn't abandon your people, leaving them to pick up the pieces you left behind; you didn't return, expecting everything to just go back to the way it was, with you in charge; you let yourself be blamed and mistreated for something you didn't do, just because you wanted me to feel better. I'm sorry, Elena. I'm really sorry."

Elena felt her own eyes begin to water as Jasper began sobbing quietly. She shook her head, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing him into her embrace. "There's nothing to be sorry for." Bellamy felt relief flood through him at the sight. He knew how much Jasper's anger at her had hurt Elena, so to see the two forgiving one another filled him with happiness. Guess she didn't need him here, after all. Pulling back, Elena smiled up at Jasper. "Look, I know you're angry with Clarke, but you have to understand that she's just trying to save Raven."

Jasper's smile dissipated immediately, replaced by a grimace. "Guess she thinks Raven's worth saving. Lucky for her."

Elena didn't know how to respond. Bellamy placed his hand on Elena's shoulder, gesturing for her to move aside, which she did. "Let's get yourself together, Jasper," Bellamy told him firmly, "you can't let your anger get in the way of what we have to do here."

Jasper groaned, shaking his head at Bellamy. He stood up and smirked coldly at his former leader. "You know, that's funny coming from you, When you're angry, people die. Just ask that girl over there," Jasper pointed at Niylah before walking off. Bellamy looked at Niylah, who stared back at him questioningly, before looking at Elena.

She shrugged, avoiding his gaze, "he's not wrong."

"Shut up!" Clarke screamed from the other room. It was soon followed by a pained shout. Bellamy and Elena both darted into the other room, finding Clarke leaning over Raven and screeching in her face. "You're done, A.L.I.E.. You hear me? We're gonna fry you."

"Hey! Hey!" Bellamy shouted, pulling Clarke away from Raven, who had blood on her lips and chin. "Come on. Come on."

Clarke struggled against him, "get off!" Elena glanced down and noticed the teeth marks on Clarke's arm.

"Clarke!" Elena exclaimed, making Clarke's protest quiet down. "Calm down!"

Bellamy had finally managed to pull Clarke into the other room now that her struggling was subdued. Elena had grabbed some of the bandages on her way out of the other room. She made Clarke sit on top of a table and hold out her arm.

"I let her get to me," Clarke said quietly, rather tearful, as Elena gently wrapped up her arm.

"You don't say," Bellamy remarked from beside them. "Take a break," he told her, more gently this time. "I'll let her beat me up for a while."

Elena tied the bandage up and turned to Bellamy. "I'll go with you." This surprised Bellamy, she hadn't willingly been near him unless to chide him for a while. "Who knows what she'll say, it's best to have someone there to hold the other person back." Bellamy nodded. Elena was right, especially after what had just happened with Clarke. They walked off, leaving Jasper and Clarke alone.

* * *

"You bit her? Really?" Elena snapped at Raven as soon as she walked into the room.

"She was attacking me," Raven defended herself calmly.

"You were provoking her, Raven, what did you expect?" She settled herself down on top of a table, after seeing Bellamy sit down on one of the chairs either side of another table.

"I was merely stating a few home truths," Raven smiled at Elena.

The brunette sent her friend a sarcastic smile, "I bet you were." Clearly, things between Clarke and Jasper hadn't gone well as Jasper suddenly stormed into the room. He took a seat beside Bellamy and crossed his arms across his chest moodily.

Raven grinned, looking each of her friends. "Look at your united front." Focusing on Jasper, she spoke up again. "Tell me, why do you give Bellamy a pass for murdering your girlfriend? What was her name?"

Jasper only glanced at her, resting his cheek on his fist. "Don't talk about Maya."

"You don't have to listen to this," Bellamy assured Jasper, letting him know that he could leave if he wanted to.

"Let's protect Jasper," Raven cut Jasper's answer off. "Jasper's so sensitive. Jasper's lost someone. Everyone cater to his feelings." Elena hated Raven's cruel mocking, it just wasn't like her and it made Elena feel sick to her stomach. "We've all lost someone. You don't see us falling apart. You don't see us getting wasted, being useless…"

"No, you took a pill to take your pain away," Jasper quipped, "you gave up your memories."

Raven ignored him, continuing her taunting. "But then why should we expect anything more? You used to get high off people's medicine. Being a selfish loser was your only move."

Her mocking had got to him by now. He whimpered, "please stop."

"That's all we see when we look at you: a coward, a waste of breath. Why do you even bother living? You're weak, pathetic. You can't save me. You can't even save yourself. You couldn't save what's her name."

Jasper slammed his fist against the table, lunging at Raven, "you know her name!" Bellamy was quick to jump up and grab ahold of Jasper.

"Jasper, think. It's not Raven talking," Bellamy reminded him. "You're giving her what she wants. Go."

Jasper looked at Elena, who nodded. "We'll be fine." He nodded and walked out of the room.

"And then there were three," Raven grinned at the remaining tow. "So, Bellamy, I do have one question. Does it bother you that you don't get any credit for the genocide at Mount Weather?" Elena rolled her eyes, of course Raven would bring that up. Bellamy looked away, pretending not to listen. "But you murdered all those people, too, and you're just forgotten. Then again, you didn't get any credit for the culling on the Ark, either. How many people suffocated when you threw away my radio?" He glanced at Raven before looking at Elena, who mouthed 'it's okay' to him, helping him to regain any control he lost over his emotions. "You know, at least Clarke was saving her own people. You were just saving your own ass. Of course, that's nothing compared to killing your own mom." Both of their gazes snapped back to Raven. Bellamy swallowed and shifted around in his seat, visibly uncomfortable, while Elena glared heatedly at Raven for bringing up the topic of his mother. "You just had to take little sister to her first dance. You might as well just shoved Aurora out of the airlock yourself. Do you think she'd be proud of you now for the kind of leader you've become, or would she see the truth like the rest of us do, that you're a follower?"

That was it. "God, will you just stop?" Elena exclaimed, exasperatedly. Raven - no, A.L.I.E. had gone too far. To remind Bellamy of Mount Weather was one thing, but to start talking about his mother? No, Elena couldn't allow that. She knew that Bellamy had never stopped blaming himself for his mother's death. She knew that it broke his heart. It was one of the reasons why he was so protective of herself and O. Bellamy had had his fill of torture from Raven, it was time to give him a break. Elena was angry at him but she wasn't heartless. Bellamy didn't deserve to be reminded and taunted about his past.

This caught Raven's attention immediately and she shifted her focus on to Elena with a twisted smirk. "How sweet. Even when you're not together, you still want to protect him." Elena felt Bellamy's worried gaze on her but she remained glaring at Raven. "And what about you, Elena?" This caused Bellamy to inwardly panic. He hated being under fire by Raven but he hated the thought of Elena suffering even more.

"What about me?" Elena inquired, readying herself for whatever Raven was about to bring up, probably her relationship with Bellamy, no doubt. Stay calm, don't let her see that it affects you, Elena thought to herself, repeating it over and over again like a mantra.

"You must have pain that you wish to escape from," Raven stated, gaze flickering over to Bellamy. "Your failed relationship with Bellamy, perhaps?"

Elena released a humourless laugh. Raven was being predictable. It was Elena's turn to smirk coldly. "That was a weak attempt, don't you think?" She asked with a raised brow. Leaning forward, she said in a stage whisper, "you'll have to try better than that." She didn't know why she was taunting Raven. A taste of her own medicine, maybe? To show she wasn't affected? Who knows.

Raven looked thoughtful for a moment, before smiling as if she had just got everything she'd ever wanted. "What about the memories of your mother being killed?" Elena's smirked dropped immediately.

Bellamy knew he should have stopped this. He stood up and walked over to Elena, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Elena, she doesn't know what she's talking about, don't let her get to you."

"I'm fine," she reassured him, placing her hand on top of his, momentarily forgetting their situation and just being grateful for his support. She kept her gaze trained on Raven, who continued her attack.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe she got herself floated on purpose?"

Elena cocked her head to one side, narrowing her gaze. "How'd you figure that?"

Raven shrugged as if it was no big deal, as if the answer was obvious. "I mean, she knew the rules, yet she still broke them. Makes you wonder whether she just wanted to be rid of you, doesn't it?"

Elena nodded and 'hmm'd quietly. "Wow," she drawled out after a moment, "you're really clutching at straws here, aren't you?" Hopping off the table, she gently lowered Bellamy's hand before letting go of it and stalking over to Raven. "But here's the thing," she reached the edge of the bed and leaned forward on her hands, getting right up in Raven's space. Bellamy took a couple of steps forward, just in case. "You didn't know my mom. You don't know of the unconditional love she had for me." She leaned in even closer to Raven's face and whispered with a smirk, "your little game won't work with me, A.L.I.E.."

Raven looked pissed off for a second before the cold smirk returned to her lips. "Well, you're no fun." Elena rolled her eyes, pushing off of the bed and resuming her place on top of the table. She shuffled along to the end of the table and gently patted the space beside her, gesturing for Bellamy to sit with her, which he eagerly accepted. "Fine. Let's go back to Bellamy, shall we? You know, Clarke's only been back for one day and you're already taking orders. The good, little knight by his queen's side. Too bad you were never that devoted to your friend Gina." Elena closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. The most recent sore point in Bellamy's life. Gina's death was what tipped Bellamy over the edge before. She'd be damned if she let it happen again.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Bellamy growled, not wanting to talk about this any further. Elena glanced down and noticed his clenched fist, deciding to nudge his fingers lightly to make him unclenched them and slip her hand into his. Bellamy's eyes moved to her face, shocked that she was initiating physical contact with him. Nonetheless, he clutched onto her hand tightly. Elena peered up at him, for once meeting his gaze and holding it. There was no hostility in her eyes, only pleading for him to ignore Raven, to not give into A.L.I.E..

Raven watched them closely, noticing that the attention wasn't on her. She decided to correct that. "Don't worry, Gina was already dead when Mount Weather blew up, and you avenged her, right?" That caught their attention, for sure, both returning their eyes to Raven.

Elena felt the grip on her hand get even tighter and brought her other hand up to turn Bellamy's face towards her. "Bellamy, focus on me and calm down," she murmured.

"I mean, you picked up a gun and slaughtered an army that was sent to protect us, that had nothing to do with blowing sweet Gina to bits, but, hey, a Grounder's a Grounder, right?" Unbeknownst to them, Niylah and Clarke had been listening in on them. Niylah heard Bellamy's role in the massacre and darted into the other room, with Clarke racing to catch her.

"My father, you," she his, rushing over to Bellamy and Elena, who both stood as soon as they noticed her.

"Niylah," Bellamy whispered, not knowing what else to say.

"You killed him," she punched him in the face.

"Niylah, Niylah, you can't be in here," Clarke told her, trying to pull her out of the room.

"It's too late. Raven's already seen her. A.L.I.E. knows we're here," Jasper sighed as Raven grinned smugly.

* * *

After putting his jacket on, Bellamy stormed out of the place. He growled and kicked a metal canister out of anger and frustration and punching everything in sight.

"Feel better?" An emotionless voice asked.

He turned around and saw Niylah glaring at him. "All I wanted was to protect my people."

"By destroying mine," she remarked.

He shook his head sadly, "I'm sorry."

"People like you always are."

The door opened, capturing their attention, and out came Elena. "Everything okay out here?" She inquired worriedly, knowing Niylah was beyond pissed.

"Everything's fine," Niylah answered calmly.

Elena nodded to Niylah, before stepping towards Bellamy. "Bell-" She stopped talking at the sight of headlights approaching them.

Octavia and Monty jumped out of the rover. Monty pushed past them looking distraught.

"What happened?" Bellamy asked Octavia when she came to a stop in front of them but she didn't answer.

"Everyone, let's go," they heard Sinclair shout from inside.

* * *

They surrounded Raven's bed, waiting for Sinclair to set up the device. "All we have to do is connect her and activate the electromagnet," he explained. Raven noticed what he was holding and began to struggle, knowing exactly what it was. "Hold her arm still."

"Raven," Octavia shouted, wrestling Raven's arm down.

"Hold it still!"

"Raven!

"Raven, stop."

"Raven, stop it. Stop it. Stop it! Raven!"

Suddenly, Raven began smashing her head against the headboard harshly, confusing everyone for a moment, before it dawned on Bellamy what it was she was trying to do. "She's trying to kill herself," he warned the others, running around the back of the bed. Octavia tried holding Raven's head against the bed frame but it didn't work, so Bellamy slipped his hand behind her head in an attempt to soften the blow while everyone else worked to keep her still and connect her to the device.

"Stop," Clarke demanded, holding up the flame and causing everyone to become silent, "and I'll give you this." Bellamy took the distraction and quickly snapped the bracelet around Raven's wrist.

"No. You lied! You lied!" Raven screamed. "No. No. Please don't. The EMP will give me brain damage. You know it will. Please don't do this," he begged them, mainly Sinclair.

"Don't listen to her."

"Please. You know it will. Sinclair, stop! Sinclair, no."

"We've only got one shot at this. The EMP will fry the wristband, too," Sinclair told everyone.

"Do it. Do it."

"Ok. Got it. Go."

"No!" They all waited but nothing happened.

"What's happening?" Jasper asked, confused.

Sinclair checked the device. "Nothing." Everyone's shoulder's slumped. "There's no more power. The battery's not strong enough."

Clarke sighed. "Well, then get one that is."

Monty had another ingenious idea. "The rover."

"Sinclair, hold her! Hold her!" Bellamy shouted as Raven began struggling again. He and Monty ran outside to the rover.

"Here they come. This is our chance," Sinclair said as Monty and Bellamy ran back into the room with the battery.

Bellamy took Sinclair's place again, so the latter could connect the battery to the bracelet. "Guys, we have to move! Move!"

"Got it!" Raven screamed loudly over the sound of the electricity running through her body, before completely stilling, seemingly unconscious.

Elena felt for a pulse, tears of panic filling her eyes. When she found one, she breathed a sigh of relief and turned to face the others. "She's breathing."

"Raven?"

"Come on, Raven." Elena and Octavia began calling out to her and shaking her lightly to try and wake the girl.

"Come on, Raven. Come on. Come on, Raven. Wake up. Hey. Wake up. Please." They begged.

"She warned us," Jasper's voice trembled as he paced up and down.

Clarke stood beside Elena, calling out to Raven. "Come on, Raven. Wake up. Please." Jasper subtly grabbed a hammer **(?)** and ran over to the flame, which sent Clarke into a flurry of panic as she rushed over to him and tugged on his arm to stop him.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't move!" He protested, trying to push her off.

"No, you can't. No. Give it back," Clarke pleaded frantically, practically in tears at this point.

"A.L.I.E. did that to Raven! She's never gonna get this."

"Don't! Stop! It's Lexa," Clarke screeched, making Jasper freeze. "Part of her's still in there. I saw them cut it out of her head. I'm not…" she stopped talking.

"Clarke, what is it?" Elena asked, placing a hand on Clarke's shoulder.

"Both the A.I.s were made by the same person. Both tap into human consciousness," she looked at Sinclair for an answer, "they must work similarly, right?"

Sinclair nodded, providing her with the answer she wanted, "there's probably only one pathway to consciousness, so it's possible, yeah."

Octavia failed to see the relevance to their situation. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"I've seen an A.I. get removed before," Clarke explained, offering them some kind of hope of saving Raven. "Help me get her on her side."

"Okay," Octavia nodded, grabbing Raven. "1, 2, 3." The girls lifted Raven onto her side.

"Get that med kit from my bag." She was handed the med kit, which she pulled out a small knife from and made an incision on Raven's neck, allowing the blood to pour out. "This has to work." Eventually, something silver starting coming out, making relief rush through Clarke. She was right.

"What is that?" Bellamy asked. Everyone was a little grossed out by it.

"It must be whatever's left of the chip," Sinclair hazard a guess. Raven's body started jolting as she coughed, regaining consciousness.

Elena gasped and ran to Raven's side, gently stroking her hair as she rolled over. "Raven," she whispered, feeling tearful. "You're okay."

"Ow," Raven murmured but smiled up at Elena, happy to see her friend again.

"Get her up," Sinclair said quietly, helping Elena and Octavia sit Raven up.

"Never thought I'd be so happy to see someone in pain," Octavia grinned, making Raven laugh, albeit painfully so.

Jasper approached Clarke meekly. "Couldn't do what you did," he said quietly, handing her the flame. She took it, nodding gratefully to him.

"I could've saved my mom," Monty whispered to himself he walked away from Raven's bed. He looked heartbroken.

Jasper approached him, "hey," he gently touched his shoulder.

"Get the hell away from me!" Monty snapped as he pushed Jasper away and ran out of the room.

"A.L.I.E. knows we're here," Bellamy said, taking the attention off of Jasper and Monty. "We've got to move." He walked out after Monty with the battery, going to get the rover ready.

"You got her?" Elena asked Sinclair, referring to Raven. When he nodded, she smiled at him, kissed the top of Raven's head and ran after Bellamy, only stopping to quickly speak to Niylah. "I'm sorry for everything." The grounder woman didn't reply. "And thank you, for allowing us to use your home." Niylah inclined her head towards Elena but offered her no other reply, causing Elena to sigh sadly. She understood Niylah's actions, but it still saddened her. However, she pushed away the sadness and continued outside, finding Bellamy standing guard with his gun, while Monty put the battery back in the rover. Elena had noticed the blood on his knuckles and could only assume that his frustration had got the best of him earlier, resulting in him hitting something. She approached him carefully, keeping her eyes on his. He remained silent as she reached out for his bloodied hand and gently began wrapping a bandage around it. "Between you and Clarke, I think I'm going to have to keep a constant supply of bandages on me," she joked quietly, offering a small smile. It faltered when he didn't reply. "Are you okay?" She finally asked. "I know some things that shouldn't have been mentioned came up." She had finished wrapping his hand up but she didn't let it go.

"It's fine," he replied, lowering his head and resting his forehead against hers, just waiting for her to pull away. She didn't. "I'm fine," he whispered, as though he didn't want to be too loud and break whatever spell was possessing her to make her stay.

"It will get easier," she whispered, just as quietly. Neither one of them was sure as to what she was referring to exactly. It would get easier to live with himself? It would get easier to live with them being apart? It would get easier for her to bring herself to forgive him? Only time could tell.

"Elena?"

"Yes?"

"What do you do when you realise you might not be the good guy?"

Clarke froze where she was, having just been passing by them in time to hear Bellamy's question. Elena didn't have the answer, but maybe she did. "Maybe there are no good guys," she repeated her mother's words, making the two pull apart and look at her.

Elena smiled briefly at Clarke and looked back up at Bellamy. "Maybe she's right." Clarke smiled at the two of them, silently hoping they would soon reconcile and continued her walk over to the rover. "C'mon, we should get going." Elena took a couple of steps back, waiting for Bellamy to follow her, which he did.

"Hey," everyone looked at Clarke, "there's one thing I don't understand," she was talking to Raven. "Why did A.L.I.E. want you to kill yourself?"

Raven looked at the ground, shrugging casually. "Because I know why she wants the second A.I.."

"Why?" Bellamy asked.

"It's the only thing that can stop her."

"Then let's stop her," Octavia said, appearing from behind Bellamy. "We survive together." Everyone looked at her and then at each other, nodding determinedly. "Come on." They were coming forA.L.I.E..

* * *

**So that's all I have for you today! Hope you've enjoyed it and feel free to let me know your thoughts. Bye for now~**


	52. AN 2

**Hey, guys! So it's been a really busy past few weeks, so I'm going to take a couple of weeks off of writing this story, but I was thinking of maybe writing a few drabbles/one shots. Let me know if you'd be up for this and please send in any requests you may have - whether it be for Bellamy and Elena, a friendship/bonding moment between Elena and another character, or even a Bellamy and Y/N type thing! Just leave a couple of details about what you want (like a prompt or something you want the drabble to be based on) and I'll see what I can do! ******

**~Until next time, bye bye**


	53. Hurts Like Hell

**Here's the first one shot, requested by maddisondevil, thank you for requesting and I hope you enjoy this! Also, I'd just like to reiterate that it would be helpful for those who make requests to give me some details to go with, just like maddisondevil did. So I was listening to Hurts Like Hell by Fleurie when I wrote this (you should go check it out), and the first verse and chorus kind of inspired this.**

**I changed the requested time for this one shot so that it's actually set between the end of Fallen and the beginning of Nevermore, instead of after Nevermore because it just seemed more fitting. I really hope this is kind of what you wanted!**

* * *

**Elena's POV**

Bellamy dragged me out of the cave, literally dragged because I was very unwilling to go with him. When I thought we were far enough away from the cave, I snatched my hand out of his grip and crossed my arms over my chest, looking at him with what I believed to be a glare. "What do you want, Bellamy?"

"We need to talk, Elena," he replied, turning to face me and frowning at my cold expression.

"About the fact that you just unexpectedly turned on Pike? Yeah, let's talk about that. Do you really believe it was the right thing to do or was it just to save me and Octavia?"

His posture slackened and he sighed. "That's not what I want to talk about."

I shrugged. I didn't care about what he wanted to talk about, I just wanted to know if he had finally got a clue and decided to stop acting like a complete idiot. "That's the only think _worth_ talking about."

Bellamy scoffed but his expression turned to one of undeniable hurt and, perhaps, some anger. "Oh, because our break up means nothing?"

I felt my heart drop at the mention of it. "What is there to talk about?" I asked quietly, voice low and filled with reluctance. I looked down, unable to meet his eyes. It hurt too much. "We're over, what else is there to talk about?" My voice was a mere whisper, now.

"No," he whimpered, just as quietly. Bellamy took a step towards me and reached out to touch my arm, but I pushed this hand away.

"Don't." I managed to find my voice again as I met his gaze heatedly. "You can't fix this so easily, Bellamy."

"Tell me how to fix it, Elena," he begged, growing desperate, "because I can't be without you. I need you by my side, it's how it's always been. You're my entire world," his words brought tears to my eyes because I could feel the sincerity and heartbreak behind them. Closing my eyes to avoid his sorrow filled gaze, I shook my head and turned away again. "How can you just let go of our relationship so easily?"

That got to me. My heart break, remorse, longing was replaced by sheer anger, fuelling my fiery temper. I whirled around, ready to take out my anger on him. "_easy_? You think this is easy for me, Bellamy?" I couldn't believe that he actually thought I felt nothing over the breakup, like I could just so effortlessly push my feelings aside. "Breaking up with you was the hardest thing I've done, Bellamy, because I love you _so much_." I had started sobbing by now, fists clenched at my sides. "I never wanted it to come to this, I couldn't have imagined that it ever would."

Bellamy closed his eyes and swallowed loudly. I watched as a tear slipped down his cheek and wanted nothing more than to reach out and brush it away but I couldn't. Not anymore. "I know," he whispered, finally, "I know it hurts you just as much as it hurts me. I'm sorry for saying that. This just hurts like hell."

"I know it does," I nodded, completely understanding him. It really did hurt like hell. "But I can't just look past everything you've done and pretend everything is okay. I can't be with you as you are now. The things you've done, they're just too much. I just need some time." Silence filled the air, accompanied only by the sound of our heavy breathing. He clearly had nothing else to say - and neither did I. So, with those parting words, I took my leave and quickly returned to the cave. Leaving him completely alone.


	54. Their Little Angel

**This next request is kind of an AU as it's long after the current timeline in the show and obviously I have no idea what the future will be like for them. I'd say this was about 6 years down the line for our favourite characters. Actually, this has an incredibly happy vibe, so it's most definitely an AU where they finally live happily ever after, haha! I do think the happiness in this one shot is, sadly, wishful thinking and over-exaggeration, but I really felt like writing something fluffy. This was requested by Jocie413. I hope you enjoy this!**

* * *

The couple were fast asleep, living in the blissful dreamworld. Legs entangled, arms wrapped around each other, breathing in perfect sync, matching content smiles on their sleeping faces. However, the peace was not destined to last as high pitched giggles filled the air and the bedding beneath them continued to unnaturally rise and fall. A small figure suddenly slumped, landing between the couple and wriggling her way under their arms.

"Mommy, Daddy, it's time to get up!" A little brunette with fluffy curls chirped as she cuddled herself into her parents.

Letting out a small groan at the disturbance to her sleep, Elena's eyes fluttered open. She was greeted by a pair of warm chocolate orbs that mirrored her own and a large grin that mimicked her husband's smile perfectly. A sleepy smile took over her features as she pulled her arms away from Bellamy and enclosed her daughter within them. "Morning, Baby," she cooed, scattering kisses although her daughter's face, eliciting more giggles from the child. Bellamy untangled himself from his wife and let out a big yawn, stretching his limbs before lying on his back. His large has wrapped around the five year old's waist and lifted her in the air, rewarding him with a startled squeal, placing her on top of his stomach. Elena chuckled and shuffled closer to them, kissing Bellamy's lips when he turned his head towards her. "And good morning to you, Mr Blake."

Bellamy hummed appreciatively, "good morning, Mrs Blake." his whispered against her lips.

"Daddy, you forgot about me!" The littlest brunette pouted, something she had learned from her mother no doubt.

"What? I could never forget about you, Lucy!" Bellamy grinned, tickling the little girl's sides, causing her to wriggle around and try escape. "Okay, Munchkin, guess we'd better get dressed and head to breakfast, huh?" Lucy nodded her head furiously just as a loud growl was emitted from her stomach. Elena and Bellamy shared an amused look.

"Looks like your tummy agrees, Luce!" Elena laughed, tapping Lucy's stomach lightly. Lucy giggled and jumped off of her father, skipping out of the room. Elena shook her head amusedly at her daughter's antics, looking over to Bellamy only to find him already staring at her. "What?" She asked, smiling widely at her.

He grinned, looking at her with unparalleled love, "nothing really. Just thinking about how lucky I am to have the perfect family."

Elena rolled her eyes at him and shoved him lightly, "you've grown so soft."

Bellamy chuckled at her and pulled her close, "only for you." He nuzzled his nose against hers affectionately and kissed her lovingly.

"MOMMY, DADDY, HURRY UP!" The indignant shouts of their five year old interrupted them, making them pull away. They both shared a chuckle as they pressed their foreheads together.

"Our little angel has spoken," Elena murmured.

Lucy was a mischievous child with hair as dark and curly as Bellamy's, pretty tan skin like his, eyes as warm and soulful as Elena's and a strong determination within her, again, much like Elena. She liked to explore and run around. She especially loved going on little trips with her Auntie O, who taught her all about the flowers and herbs, as well as Trigedasleng. She enjoyed spending time her Auntie Clarke, watching the blonde fill the sheets of her notebook with beautiful drawings. Clarke would often fawn over the drawings the little girl proudly presented, ruffling her hair and placing kisses all over her cheeks. Lucy loved hearing all about her Auntie Lexa and Uncle Lincoln, wishing over and over again to meet them. Jasper and Monty often found themselves reverting back to their childish ways when Lucy was about, playing along with the child's silly games. They could often be found sitting with proper posture, chatting about what a lovely tea party Lucy was throwing, relishing in the little one's delighted giggles. Nate and Bryan sometimes accompanied the two for Lucy's tea parties but reenacting Lucy's stories was more their forte. Having come from a long line of dreamers, Elena of course retold her beloved fairy tales to her daughter, even going so far as to write them in the journal Clarke had gifted her. It was these stories that Lucy shared with Nate and Bryan and had then act out with her. Naturally, Lucy was the princess, just like her mother, and the guys would take it in turn to play the hero and the villain. Let's not forget about Raven, who was completely enamoured with Lucy from the moment she saw the little girl. The small girl would often sit with Raven and watch as she fixed whatever it was that had been broken, or made improvements upon the rover, with a look of awe written allover her face. Her curiosity often got the best of her, which led to many questions being asked about what Raven was doing, but Raven didn't mind. She'd answer them in the most simple way, happy that the child showed an interest. Lucy's enchantment wasn't lost on Murphy, either, who lost all snark and bite as soon as the girl entered his sight. Emori had also grown fond of the child, enjoying the way John interacting with her. The little girl's presence had even brought about a certain discussion about the pair's near future. And what about Grandpa Marcus and Grandma Abby, you ask? They absolutely doted on Lucy, looked at her with nothing but adoration in their eyes. Their children were all grown up and they had decided against having any children of their own, so having a granddaughter was a blessing to them. They, like everyone else, happily looked after Lucy whenever her parent's needed some alone time. To put it simply, as the first born child of the members of the original 100, it was safe to say that Lucy was the light of their lives, adored by everyone. Everyone knew her, how could they not? The little girl of Bellamy and Elena Blake wasn't someone who could be overlooked, especially not when she fluttered about Arkadia, leaving light and happiness in her wake. It was also fair to say that she got away with a lot.

The Blake couple made their way to the mess hall hand in hand, already knowing that their daughter had run on ahead of them, like she often did. They weren't at all surprised when they were greeted by the sight of the girl in her grandfather's arms, happily chattering away with everyone else who was seated at the long table. Elena smiled, looking on at the dining table, where all of her favourite people were gathered. Jasper was nodding off slightly, head occasionally jolting up as he startled himself by letting it fall in the first place, with Monty and Harper sat opposite him, snickering quietly at the sight of their best friend. Raven and Octavia had teamed up against Nate and Bryan in a debate about god knows what, while Emori and Murphy murmured quietly amongst themselves. Amongst all of them, situated in the middle, sat Clarke, Abby and Marcus, who were all grinning down on Lucy as she spoke animatedly, waving her arms about to emphasise whatever point she was making.

Elena sighed happily, resting her head on Bellamy's shoulder as he placed a kiss atop of the crown of her head, and walked over to them. "Good morning, everyone," Elena greeted, wrapping her arms around Clarke from behind and giving her a gentle squeeze before sending Abby and her father a grin.

"Mommy, Daddy!" Lucy cheered, lifting her arms up as a sign for Bellamy to pick her up. Marcus chuckled and lifted her slightly, making it easier for Bellamy to grab her small frame. Elena and Bellamy took their respective places beside Clarke and Octavia. Lucy settled herself down in Bellamy's lap and pressed a kiss to her father's cheek, resulting in an ear-splitting grin from Bellamy. After all the sorrow, the heartbreak and the darkness they had all suffered, they had finally been able to find the light, something to fight for and live for. They were finally able to look to and anticipate the future without fear.


	55. Always? Always

**This is a little drabble about a jealous Bellamy, requested by Jocie413. Hope you like this, I kept it quite short because I've done something like this before, but still wanted to give you something! Enjoy :)**

* * *

"Is something wrong?" Elena asked after what seemed like the 100th eye roll and huff combo she had witnessed today. She had been helping out her friend, Aaron, who wanted to ask out the girl he liked now that they had all found some temporary peace. The problem was that he was too shy and nervous that he decided to come to Elena for advice, not that she was really an expert in this domain, and so they had spent the day together trying to work up his nerve enough to ask Nadia, his crush, out. Unfortunately, she had failed to inform Bellamy of her plans, so found herself excusing herself from her discussion with Aaron and wandering after him after he had stormed out of the mess hall.

"No, everything's fine," came Bellamy's clipped reply.

Now it was Elena's turn to roll her eyes, "well, clearly it's not because you've been glaring at me and Aaron non-stop today."

Bellamy scoffed and turned to lay on his side, facing the wall and away from Elena. "So he has a name," he muttered bitterly himself but Elena caught it.

She bit her lip in an attempt to hold in a chuckle when she realised what the problem was. Bellamy Blake was jealous. "Hmm, if nothing's wrong then you won't mind me going back to Aaron." She watched carefully as Bellamy's large frame tensed and grinned mischievously. "See you later," she called out, closing the door to make it seem like she had gone. Elena eyed Bellamy as he let out a deep sigh and crept over to him. Leaning down, she brushed the hair that had spilled over his cheek away and placed an affectionate kiss on his cheek. She giggled when his previously furrowed brows flew up in surprise as he rolled onto his back to look up at her.

"You're still here," he murmured, watching as she sat by his side, facing him head on.

Rolling her eyes again, she cupped his face in her hands and leaned forward. "Of course I am, idiot." He met her halfway and happily accepted her kiss, hands coming up to clutch onto her wrists. "You know, you could've just said you were jealous."

"I wasn't-" he began denying the claim but cut himself off when he received a warning look. "Okay, fine. I was. Why were you spending so much time with him, anyway?"

"He wanted help with asking someone out and he thought I'd have some helpful advice because I have such an amazing relationship," she cooed, nuzzling her nose against his.

Bellamy sighed, laughing slightly, "I over-reacted, didn't I?"

Elena laughed and nodded, "maybe a little but it's okay, because that's how I know you love me."

He grinned at her and leaned forward to catch her lips in another kiss, "I'll always love you."

"Always?"

"Always."


	56. May We Meet Again

**Wow, okay, so this next one is probably gonna make you hate me, haha! This is an alternative path of events to the episode Fallen, where Octavia, Bellamy, Marcus and Elena go to meet Monty but Pike is there. Warning: after the initial scene there would be a lot of plot holes, so I'm going breeze past those parts and carry on where it needs to be picked up. I would say enjoy, but I'm not sure you will…**

* * *

"Let him go, Pike," Marcus demanded.

"Can't do that," Pike answered simply, lifting his radio to his mouth. "One at their feet." A bullet was fired at the ground beside them. "It's over. Put down your weapons."

"Shoot him," Octavia hissed to Marcus.

He couldn't, though. Not with Pike being so close to Monty. "Monty's in the shot."

"Come on, Marcus," Pike said. They shot at the three again. "I promised Monty's mother that I'd bring him home alive. Don't make me a liar," Pike taunted them. Marcus lowered his gun, not wanting Monty to get hurt - or worse, killed.

"Kane, no," Octavia exclaimed as she watched him throw his gun to the ground.

"Now, you two," Pike instructed the girls. Octavia quickly swung her sword around so that it was across Bellamy's throat.

"What are you doing?" Marcus whispered.

"No, wait, Dad, let her try it." Elena realised that Octavia might be doing just the right thing. Bellamy was Pike's right-hand man, he wouldn't want to lose a valuable asset like that.

"One in the girl's leg," Pike muttered into the radio. As soon as Bellamy heard that, he decided to take matters into his own hands, worrying about what they'd do to his girls if he let this play out. He quickly ducked out from under Octavia's sword, grabbing her arm and twisting it so that she fell to the ground.

"Octavia!" Sheathing her sword to avoid using it (she didn't want to actually kill him), Elena punched Bellamy in the face, knocking him back but before she could advance in her attack, Pike whistled and the shooters showed themselves, shooting at their feet. She was so distracted by trying to check Octavia was okay that she didn't see it coming until it was too late. A sharp pain in her abdomen left her gasping sharply and struggling to breathe properly. She stood frozen in place, the shock making her unable to move as tears filled her eyes and the pain came flooding through her entire body tenfold. Her warm eyes slowly looked up and met Bellamy's horror stricken face before she fell to the floor.

"ELENA!" Octavia, Marcus and Bellamy screamed, running towards the girl as quickly as they could. Everyone else had completely stilled, it was as if time itself has stopped.

Bellamy caught his ex-girlfriend in his arms as she struggled to breathe properly. He saw the tears escape from her eyes and the look of finality in them. "No, no," he whispered, shaking his head and swallowing back the lump in his throat. His tears fell onto her face, merging with her own. "You're gonna be fine, Baby, we'll get you to Abby."

"It's too late," she managed to whisper between strangled breaths.

"No, it's not. Don't give up, Kiddo," Marcus encouraged her, though his doubt clouded eyes gave him away. He grabbed her hand and stroked her hair as he let his tears escape.

Elena looked at him and smiled weakly through her tears, "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you, too," he choked out, kissing her forehead. "May we meet again."

"Lena," Octavia whimpered, crawling beside her as Marcus moved aside for her.

The brunette lifted a shaky hand up to pet Octavia's hair, "you're going to be okay, O, because you're a warrior. I love you so much, little sister."

"I love you more," O whispered back and kissed her cheek.

Elena smiled and looked up at Bellamy. "Tell Clarke how much I love her and that she has to stay strong."

"Tell her yourself," Bellamy refused to believe he was losing the love of his life.

"We both know that I won't be able to do that," Elena cupped his cheek with her hand, smiling when he placed his own hand over hers. "I'm sorry about the way things have been between us."

"No," Bellamy quickly shook his head, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for everything, Elena." He was sobbing quietly, now, his eyes refusing to leave hers. "I love you, I love you so so much."

"I love you, too, more than anything in the world," Elena could barely get the words out before Bellamy pressed his lips against her own, trying to portray as many of his emotions through the kiss as he possibly could.

He pulled away just in time to watch her eyes flutter to a close, indefinitely. "No, no, please come back to me. Please, Princess," he sobbed, pulling her body into his chest and burying his face in her hair. Marcus pulled Octavia into a hug as they both broke down from the heartbreak.

* * *

**(A/N: this is the part where everything would go differently, so we'll just skip straight to the part where they're reunited with Clarke)**

* * *

The rover pulled up and out stumbled Clarke and Jasper.

Jasper rushed around to the back and grabbed the unconscious Raven out of the car. "Need your help! We have to get her inside before she wakes up." Nate ran over to him and helped him carry Raven inside.

Clarke followed after them, stopping in front of the two Blakes, who had matching dull, empty looks in their eyes. She frowned and looked around, noticing the absence of the one person who would normally rush out to see her. "Where's Elena?" The siblings both looked as though they had been physically wounded by her words and it was Bellamy who finally spoke up after a long silence.

"She's gone," his voice was hoarse from his crying. Vivid images of them placing flowers on the grave they had created for Elena near the dropship filled his mind.

"Gone where?" Clarke inquired, unsure of where Elena could possibly have gone.

Bellamy's breathing grew heavier as he fought back the tears he thought he had ran out of. "She, uh, she was shot. She didn't make it."

Clarke felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her. She held a hand up to her heart, which felt as though it had been pierced by a knife. "No, that's-that's not possible." The tears came rushing back, the very same ones she figured she had been done shedding once she said goodbye to Lexa.

"Clarke," Octavia reached out to touch her arm but Clarke withdrew herself away from the girl, pacing back and forth while shaking her head furiously. "_No._ She can't be gone! She was the one person in my life who would always be there, I-" a sob ripped through her throat. "No, no, it's not true…" She felt her legs about to give way. Bellamy gathered her up in his arms before she could fall and they both cried together, in each other's arms, mourning the loss of their precious Elena.

* * *

**Thank you for the request, maddisondevil! I only ended up doing Elena's death, because I kind of already did what it would be like if Bellamy died at the end of the first season/start of the second season, hope you don't mind. Keep the requests coming, guys! I don't particularly mind the angst, but if you could request some nice/funny/fluffy stuff, that would be great. Getting away from all of the doom and gloom of the actual series was another reason why I wanted a break from writing the actual story, haha!**


	57. What's Wrong with a Little Protection?

**This is a Lucy and Bellamy drabble for Yolo808! Thanks for requesting, I hope this is alright for you ^_^**

* * *

It had grown late and the 100 had swapped out building a wall for a party for all. Everyone was getting drunk off of Jasper and Monty's moonshine, including you. Although, you weren't as drunk as the others. There was one particular boy, though, who was ridiculously drunk and, therefore, overly confident. His name was Charlie and you had caught onto his advances in the past week. The lingering hand on your shoulder, the flirty smiles sent your way and the constant offering to help you with whatever it is you're doing. It was too much and it was beginning to bother you, especially now that he was in front of you, liquid courage in hand.

"Charlie, I already told you I'm not interested," you sighed, subtly scanning the area for Clarke or Octavia or anyone who could save you from his never-ending advances.

"C'mon, Lucy, we've been on Earth for a while now and I've never seen you with anyone. Aren't getting a little, you know, lonely?" He asked with a sleazy smile, which made you mentally gag. Your lips curled up in disgust and you rolled your eyes. Fed up with being polite, you turned on your heel and began to leave, only to be stopped by his hand grabbing your arm and yanking back towards him. "It's rude to leave in the middle of a conversation," he chided snidely.

"Let go of me, Jerk!" You shoved him but he wouldn't let go. Suddenly, a large hand tugged Charlie's wrist, making him release you, and a fist went flying towards Charlie's face. You stumbled back slightly, jaw dropped in surprise when the large stature of Bellamy appeared in front of you, looking as intimidating as ever.

"Touch her again and that black eye will be the least of your worries," Bellamy growled, grabbing your hand and pulling you away to a quieter area. Once in a place deemed peaceful enough, Bellamy turned to you and placed his hands on your shoulders, giving you a quick once over. "You okay, Lucy? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, thanks to you," you told him, relief filling your body. You hadn't known Bellamy for very long but you admired his sincere determination to keep his sister and, as of late, the camp safe. United in that sense of things, you had found yourself befriending him, the trials and tribulations of Earth only bringing you closer together. You couldn't deny the fact that, like pretty much every other girl in camp, he made your heart skip a beat whenever he was near but it was different for you. Unlike the others, you weren't interested in his looks, though they didn't hurt, but rather his personality. You wanted to know his hopes and dreams, his fears, what makes him tick. You wanted to really know him. So him being so protective over you warmed your heart and brought a smile to your face.

Bellamy shook his head, he didn't need you to thank him for his actions because they just came naturally. He wanted to protect you but not only that, he didn't want to see you in the arms of another. "It was nothing, really. Actually, if I'm being honest, that wasn't just for you," he admitted sheepishly, elaborating when you threw him a look of confusion. "I didn't want you to go with him," he rubbed the back of his neck coyly.

You bit back a grin, feeling heat rush to your cheeks. "Why not?"

"Because I, uh, I like you, Lucy," Bellamy confessed, heart stammering in his chest.

You giggled and put him out of his misery by standing on the tip of your toes, whispering, "I like you, too," before placing your lips on his.


	58. When the Butterfly Met the Princess

**Ignore the title, okay? I just thought that Octavia kinda has a thing for butterflies in the first series and she herself is kinda like a butterfly, what with being sheltered before she was set free and found who she wanted to be, I don't know. Thanks for requesting, Roto ^_^**

* * *

She heard the door being unlocked and hid out of plain sight, waiting for the door to be shut once more before greeting her brother. Once the quiet thud sounded, she jumped up from under the table with a grin and ran to greet her brother.

"Bell, you're ho-" her enthusiastic greeting was cut short when she saw the girl by her brother's side. She was frozen in place. She had never been around anyone other than her mother and Bellamy, she wasn't allowed, so to have another person suddenly show up in her home, well, she didn't know how to react. The girl looked about her age, maybe a year or so older, and somehow seemed familiar. Octavia took in the rich brown ringlets, the large doe eyes that displayed shock but offered warmth and kindness and realised exactly who she was. Bellamy's princess, the girl he always spoke about. She looked up at her brother for confirmation.

Her brother grinned and nodded, "O, it's okay." Octavia watched as Bellamy walked over to the girl and placed his hands on her shoulders. "She's a friend of mine. Remember the girl I told you about, Elena?" Of course she remembered. Bellamy talked about her all the time. Elena happened to be Octavia's favourite topic of discussion, the most interesting one.

Octavia nodded slowly, "the Princess?" She clarified.

Another smile appeared on Bellamy's face. "That's right." He squeezed Elena's shoulders. "Princess, this is my little sister, Octavia." Octavia's stomach churned at Bellamy's confession, frightened by how Elena may react as she knew that it was illegal for her to be alive. Elena's jaw dropped but quickly snapped shut. Judging by the fact that she hadn't gone running off, screaming, Octavia assumed it was going down well. Her nerves seemed to disappear as Elena held out her hand to shake.

"Hi, I'm Elena."

Glancing once more at Bellamy, who mouthed 'go ahead', Octavia ignored Elena's hand and went straight for a hug. The nerves were gone, replaced with excitement that coursed through her veins. She finally had someone else to talk to. Someone closer in age, someone who wasn't her mother or Bellamy, someone who could describe what life was like outside of the only four walls Octavia got to see. She finally had a friend. Pulling back, she shot Elena her most dazzling grin, wanting to make a good impression. "I'm Octavia, will you tell me some of your stories?" Her eyes practically sparkled at the thought of finally being able to see the infamous story book in person.

"Stories?" Elena asked.

"She means your fairy tales." Bellamy explained.

Elena finally smiled and Octavia couldn't help but think about how pretty she looked, just like a princess was supposed to be. "So that's why you were interested in them!" She exclaimed, looking at Bellamy. He nodded and beamed at the two girls. Elena turned back to her. "Of course I'll tell you some of my stories!" The day Octavia met Elena was one she'll never forget. It was the day she gained a best friend for life. It was the day she gained a sister.


	59. Their (Not So) Little Hunter

**This is for Jocie413, hope you enjoy this :) Okay, so the Bellamy teaching his son how to shoot a gun part is only very small, this somehow got very out of hand while I was writing it! Let me know if you're unhappy with it and I'll redo it, haha!**

* * *

"You want to teach our son how to what?!" Elena asked exasperatedly, throwing her hands in the air for emphasis.

Bellamy held back a chuckle at how overdramatic she was being, smirking at her instead. "Okay, _our son_, and I said I want to teach him how to shoot a gun. You taught Lucy how to use a sword."

"But Skyler is my baby," Elena whined childishly, "he's too young."

"Babe, he's fifteen. Besides, we need him to start helping out during hunting parties." He cupped her face with his hands. "You know I'm right, Princess."

Over twenty years, he's used that nickname and it still made her feel all warm and fluttery inside. "I know, Bell, it's just Luce is all grown up now. I just want to hold onto my baby as long as I can," she sighed.

Bellamy grinned boyishly, a mischievous glint appearing in his eyes. "Well, we could make another one."

"Dear god, no!" Was the undignified exclamation he received, making him bark out a laugh.

He leaned down and kissed his wife sweetly on the lips. "So you're okay with me teaching him?"

"I guess I have to be," she answered reluctantly. "Can't have the Chancellor's son not pulling his weight around here, can we?"

"No, we can not," Bellamy chuckled, kissing her again.

"Ew, do you have to do that right in front of us?" Their fifteen year old son complained, wrinkling his nose at the sight of his parents making out. Contrary to his sister, he had the slightly lighter, slightly more tamed curls of Elena and the deeper, darker brown hue of his father's eyes but possessed the very sam feature of his father's that his mother loved so very much. The smattering of freckles that lay across the bridge of his nose and cheeks.

Lucy appeared behind him, having grown into a beautiful young woman just like her mother, and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Shut up, Brat, I think it's nice to see just how ridiculously in love our parents are," she grinned, walking over to hug her parents.

"Hmm, I'm glad one of you thinks that way," Elena laughed, accepting her daughter's hug and kiss on the cheek. When Lucy pulled away to greet her father, Elena cleared her throat and looked expectantly at Skyler. He finally released the grin he was holding back, rolling his eyes as he walked over to hug his mother. Elena pulled back and placed her hands on either side of his face, getting a good look at him. "You have to promise you'll be careful today," she told him, holding back a laugh at his perplexed expression.

"What are you talking about?" Sky looked at his mom and then his dad for answers.

Bellamy smirked at his son, "ready to learn how to shoot, Champ?"

Skyler's eyes widened as he looked back at his mom, who had been the reluctant one in this decision. "Really?!"

Elena rolled her eyes but smiled, "really."

"Thank you!" Skyler wrapped his arms around her tightly, kissing her cheek.

* * *

**(A/N: FYI, I have no idea about the mechanics of a gun, so I'm just keeping it real simple here) **

"Okay, so you see that tree right in front of you?" Bellamy asked, keeping his eyes trained on his son, who nodded. "That's your target for today. First step, take the safety off." Skyler did as his father told him, remembering the basics he was taught. "Now, both hands around the handle, index finger on the trigger. Good," he praised, noticing his son's correct form **(idek)**.

"Remember what I taught you about getting your aim perfect."

"Yes, Sir," Skyler replied, taking a deep breath. He had been waiting for this moment. The moment where he would be taking his first shot.

Bellamy nodded approvingly, "when you're ready, Kid." Skyler pulled the trigger, exhaling as he did, and watched as the bullet grazed the edge of the tree. "Not bad for your first try, I'm impressed."

Skyler grinned proudly at the compliment his father gave him. "What can I say? I have the best teacher."

Chuckling, Bellamy shook his head and ruffled his son's curls. "That you do."

"Hey, Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Since we're alone, can I ask you something?" Skyler asked a little shyly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Bellamy raised a brow, wondering what could be making his usually 'cool, calm and collected' - as Skyler likes to put it - son act this way. "What is it, Sky?"

"How did you first know that you liked Mom?"

"Well, there were several moments, I guess," Bellamy answered honestly, smiling as his head was filled with images of Elena from back on the Ark. "There was one time when I was helping your mom out with her homework-"

"Wow," Skyler cut him off with a snort, "that must have been a looong time ago," he drawled out the 'long'.

Bellamy tutted and clipped him round the head, "you wanna hear this or not."

"Sorry," the boy apologised, sheepishly rubbing his sore head.

"Anyway, I was helping her with her homework and I found myself wanting to kiss her. That was the first time I became aware of my feelings for her. When I first knew that I was in love with her, however, was when she had dragged me to her apartment and made me wait while she changed into this red dress that had been passed down through your grandmother's side of the family." Bellamy was completely lost in his memories by this point and Skyler couldn't help but look on in awe as he saw the most loving look appear on his father's face. "I remember thinking about how she had grown into this beautiful, incredible woman."

Skyler smiled, even though he complained about his parents' PDA, he was glad that he had something to complain about. He really loved his parents and couldn't bear to even think about them ever being apart. "You've really love Mom for a long time, haven't you?"

"Yeah," Bellamy nodded his head, his voice slightly distant as the nostalgia had yet to wear off. He then shook his head, bringing himself back to the present, and looked at Sky slyly. "So who's the girl?"

"What? There is no girl," Skyler spluttered out indignantly.

"You can't fool me, Kid. Let me guess, Maddison?" The red tinge to Skyler's cheeks was all the answer Bellamy needed as he chuckled to himself quietly. "Monty's gonna freak."


	60. That One Time Elena Made Soup (Horribly)

**Another one for Jocie413, whose ideas I'm really loving, haha! This is a modern day AU, although I guess it's not really a 'modern day' AU because the 100 is set in the future and I've obviously thought about this too much. Enjoy~**

* * *

It was difficult. It was truly difficult to hold back the urge to scrunch his nose up in disgust, to immediately spit out the soup and chug down a pint of water. But he did it. He pursed his lips and swallowed the contents his mouth, wincing as he did so. Yes, it was disgustingly salty and he wondered if she had accidentally poured the whole bottle of salt into it and thought 'hey, it all adds to the flavour', but it was a meal made by his Princess and he'd be damned if he was the reason for the heartbreaking look of disappointment on her face. "Mm," he cleared his throat and nodded his head with what he hoped was an approving expression, "it was-"

"Awful, wasn't it?" Elena finished for him. She knew he was trying to spare her feelings but she knew Bellamy like the back of her hand and she could easily tell when he was lying to her. While it made her happy to see him lie to protect her feelings, she wasn't cruel enough to make him sit through a whole bowl of less-than-edible soup.

"Different?" He offered, hoping the ambiguity of the word would provide some consolation.

Elena let out a laugh at how he had tasted this awful soup but was still willing to be nice about it. She walked over to stand behind his chair and wrapped her arms around his neck, placing a kiss on the top of his head. "I love you but you don't have to be nice about it. I knew salt brought out the flavour in food, guess I just added way too much."

"Yeah, it was disgusting. Truly awful," he admitted, keeping his tone lighthearted so he didn't actually offend her.

She giggled and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "Thank you for trying to spare my feelings, though. You're such a good boyfriend," she grinned, nuzzling her nose against his cheek.

Bellamy chuckled, turning around to kiss her lips. "C'mon, we'll go out for lunch, my treat." He stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her even closer to him.

"I forced you to eat inedible soup and _you're_ the one treating me?" Elena asked with a raised brow, cocking her head to the side.

He hummed and kissed her again, "can't help it, I just like spoiling you."

"Yeah and apparently I like spoiling your appetite."

Bellamy grinned, "hey, if anything you made me crave real food."

Elena scoffed, and smacked his chest halfheartedly, pretending to be offended by his comment. "Now you're definitely paying!"


	61. You've Got to be Kitten Me

**This one is a modern day AU where Bellamy and Elena are together and live together but Octavia also lives with them because she's like 12 lol. And I'm making Bellamy a detective because I can just totally see him being one. Jocie413, this one's for you!**

* * *

"Oooh, what about this one!" Octavia squealed, completely entranced by the kitten's big blue eyes.

"Aw, she's so cute," Elena cooed, reaching out her index finger for the kitten to sniff before she rubbed her little face against it. Octavia giggled in delight, staring down at the little black kitten sitting happily in her lap. They'd been visiting the litter of cats often, because the lady had invited them to so the cats would grow used to being handled, but they had yet to pick one. "Okay," Elena lifted her head up to look at the kind, old lady selling the cats. "We'd like this little one, please."

"Oh, she's so lovely that one, very lively," she commented sweetly, fond eyes settle on the cat in the little girl's lap. "Something tells me she's going to like this little one very much," she patted Octavia's head, who beamed at her before playing with the kitten again. Elena carefully scooped the kitten up before placing her into the cat basket gently, 'aw'ing at the little mewls that escaped her mouth. She thanked the lady, promising to take good care of the kitten and then they were off on their way.

"So, what do you want to call her?" Elena asked as they drove home, eyes glancing over at Octavia occasionally, who held the cat box on her lap.

Octavia's brows shot up in surprise as she teared her gaze away from the kitten. "You mean I get to choose the name?"

Grinning, Elena nodded her head at her. "Of course!"

"Hmm," Octavia tapped her chin thoughtfully. Elena merely laughed at her theatrics. "Luna!"

"As in Luna the cat from Sailor Moon?"

Octavia nodded furiously at the question, peering back into the box. "Hi, Luna, we're going to take good care of you." She poked her finger through the little gate of the cat box and laughed when Luna nuzzled her nose against it. "Hey, Elena?" She murmured, reluctantly moving her eyes from the cat to her sister-figure.

"Hmm?" Elena hummed in response, eyes focused on the road.

"What are we gonna do about Bell?"

"Just leave your brother to me," Elena smiled reassuringly. She could handle Bellamy. Besides, Luna was totally worth suffering through one of his temper tantrums. Octavia shrugged and went back to playing with the cat. She trusted Elena.

Everything was set up. The litter tray was tucked away in the corner but still in plain sight for the little animal to find it. Luna had a little mat with a cute cartoon cat on it with two silver bowls, one filled with food, the other with water. She had toys to play with, a cat bed to sleep in and an Octavia to keep her entertained.

Elena and Octavia had been happily playing with Luna, laughing and cooing constantly until Elena's phone began to ring. She checked the caller I.D. and saw it was Clarke. Sighing slightly, she kissed the top of Octavia's head. "I'll be back in a sec, Kid."

"Okay," Octavia chirped, barely paying attention to Elena, who noticed this and shook her head amusedly.

She walked into the kitchen and answered the call. "Hey, Clarkey, what's up?" Elena asked, leaning on top the island.

"I need some advice," Clarke's conflicted tone had her intrigued.

"Oooh, sounds juicy, what's going on?"

At the same time, Bellamy had just gotten in from work. The detective breezed through the front door, loosening his tie and sighing a sigh of relief. Finally, he could leave all of his stress at work and just enjoy the weekend with his family. He heard giggles coming from the living room and smiled. He loved hearing his sister laugh because it meant she was happy and after everything they had been through with their mother, she deserved happiness. Walking into the living room, he expected to find Elena with Octavia but this wasn't the case. He was staring directly at the little rat sat on his sister's lap. Moving his eyes up to Octavia's face, he watched the colour drain from it as her mouth open and closed again, her gaping somewhat resembling a fish. "What the hell?" He barked out loudly, making the cat meow loudly.

Elena jumped when she heard Bellamy's shout, whispering an 'oh no' to herself. The concept of time must have completely escaped her amongst all of the excitement of the day. "Clarke, I'm gonna need to call you back," she muttered, cutting off the blonde's concerns about saying yes to a date with Lexa. Not even waiting for the reply, she hung up and rushed to the living room. "Bell-"

Her boyfriend whirled around to face her, "what don't you understand about 'no, we're not getting a cat'? I thought we had an agreement, Elena."

"Actually, I never agreed to that. Plus, you didn't say that, you said that you 'didn't think was a good idea'," she quipped and Bellamy didn't know whether to laugh or cry because he should've known that he'd have to be careful about the wording of his refusal of getting a cat. He looked back at Octavia, who was, ironically enough, giving him the puppy dog eyes.

"Please can we keep her, Bell?" Octavia whimpered, jutting out her bottom lip.

Elena saw his resolve begin to crumble and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the kitchen but not before sending a quick wink Octavia's way.

"Look, Bell," she started, placing her hands on the slope of his shoulders, "Luna's already house trained and once she's had all her visits to the vets, she won't even need a litter tray anymore. Octavia's already sworn to me that she's going to take responsibility for her and I think this will be a good experience for her." Rubbing his shoulders to get rid of the tension, she bit her lip and looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to cave.

Bellamy sighed exasperatedly, throwing his hands up and rolling his eyes, "fine, since you already seem to have this all figured out."

Elena giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a quick kiss. "Good, because I already arranged for someone to come and fit the cat flap in the back door."

Lowering his hands down to settle her waist, he snorted quietly. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

She shrugged, "I knew you'd come around eventually."

"You so owe me for this," he muttered sulkily.

Elena grinned, entangling her fingers in his hair and dragging his face closer to hers, "I think we can come to some sort of agreement," she murmured against his lips before kissing him deeply.


	62. The Time Bellamy Met Serena

**Here's a quick drabble for Callie, I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Serena Kane had made it a habit to remain the calm parent when it came to matters involving her daughter. On the rare occasion that Elena would get into some sort of trouble, she would always try to understand the situation and view it from her daughter's point of view instead immediately assuming the worst like someone, _*ahem, Marcus, ahem*_. So when she saw her fourteen year old daughter sitting and laughing with a boy a good four or five years older than her, she reigned in the worry and calmly approached the table the two were seated at.

"So this is where you're always running off to," she watched as the two nearly jumped right out of their seats, an amused smile appearing on her lips.

"Mom, hi," Elena greeted her, though she was panicking on the inside. What would her mother think? She knew Bellamy was older than her, he mother would keep her from seeing him, would she?

Serena all but smirked at the brunette, knowing the tell tale signs for Elena's panic mode. "And whites the name of the young man who has been stealing my daughter away for all these years?"

The young man stood from his seat. "I'm Bellamy Blake, it's nice to meet you, Mrs Kane," Bellamy held his hand out for the blonde to shake. He looked calm on the outside but his heart was hammering inside his chest. He knew how this looked, how odd his friendship with Elena was but he couldn't lose her, not now after all this time he's had her in his life. She was one of the best things he had going for him, the one shred of normalcy he could cling onto. Serena smiled and shook his hand. "I know this must seem odd to you, it must seem odd to a lot of people but Elena is like a little sister to me **(A/N: for now *dramatic wink*)** and she's incredibly important to me. I'm sorry I've never introduced myself before but I thought it would be difficult for Elena to explain the, uh, nature of our relationship."

Serena could tell how nervous he was and decided to make him squirm just a little longer as she looked him over. Tan skin, short, dark hair with even darker eyes and a smattering of freckles dusted upon his cheeks. Overall, a very handsome young man, who, in future, she believed Elena would come to love in a way very different from now. She could tell he was a very respectable young man and, despite the immediate alarm she felt upon seeing him with her daughter, thought that it could be good having him around to keep Elena out of trouble. "It's very nice to meet you, too, Bellamy," Serena smiled kindly and shook his hand. She held back a chuckle at how the two's shoulders visibly relaxed from their tense states.

Elena jumped up and stepped over to Bellamy's side, gently latching on to the arm of his shirt. "Bell's training to become a guard!" She announced excitedly. The nerves from before had dissolved into happiness and joy over two of the people she loved most finally meeting and getting along.

Serena didn't miss the adoration filled look Bellamy sent Elena as she clutching onto his shirt. "Oh, that's wonderful! So you've met my husband, then?"

"Um, yeah, I have but not as Elena's friend," he answered nervously, hoping she wasn't about to suggest meeting him with Elena.

Laughter filled the air. "Don't look so frightened! I'm not going to make you introduce yourself to him just yet, I think it'd be best to wait a couple of years before that happens!" Bellamy and Elena let out sighs of relief, only fuelling Serena's laughter more. Bellamy looked down at Elena, who beamed up at him. He couldn't help but think he'd like her mother as she appeared to just be an older version of Elena.


	63. AN 3

Hi, guys,  
So I'm sure this isn't the update you were expecting but I feel that I need to explain what's been going on with me and this book lately. I'm going on (or I've already been on, I suppose) a hiatus from writing. Writing doesn't make me happy anymore and I feel like I'm not writing for me, I'm writing because I get sent constant 'update' comments and feel pressured to do so. Please don't send comments like that anymore or ask when I'll start writing again because I don't know and I won't answer them. I'm sorry to those who have requested one shots or want to read the rest of the story but I just feel so unhappy when I write now that I really don't want to do it anymore.  
I'm really sorry and I'm not sure when I'll be back, but it won't be for a while.  
~Chloe


	64. Demons

**Please don't take this as me being back, for good, I just felt like writing a chapter over these past few days, so that's exactly what I did. Enjoy~ **

* * *

Elena sighed and slumped back into her seat. They group were currently in the rover with Bellamy driving, Elena in the passenger seat beside him and everyone else huddled together in the back. They were returning to camp to find Lincoln's notebook.

"Becca's journal is amazing," Raven gushed, reading through the journal. "At 26, she found a pathway to access a human mind. That same year, she had to lock up A.L.I.E. because her answer for what was wrong with the world was too many people. She was 27 when it launched the bombs."

"What did she write about the Flame?" Clarke asked, wanting to know more about the only thing that could save everyone.

"A.L.I.E. 2.0." Raven answered easily, she had been so invested in the journal that she practically had it all memorised already. "She saw it as a way to atone for her sins. She designed it to not just access a human mind but to merge with one. It could never wipe us out because it would be one of us. She even put it in herself first, altered her genes so her body wouldn't reject the implant."

"Bekka Pramheda, the first Commander," Clarke nodded, piecing together the new information with what she already knew. "The gene therapy made her blood black, didn't it?"

Raven frowned, confused. "Yeah," she replied, the surprise evident in her voice.

"How did you know that?" Octavia inquired, her tone distasteful. She still wasn't over Clarke deciding against leaving with her and Indra, or for anything she's done so far, really.

"Nightblood. That's where it came from. Somehow it became hereditary," Clarke paused, looking around at everyone, "Luna has it. That's why we have to find her. If she can access A.L.I.E. 2…"

"She can tell us how to stop A.L.I.E. 1.," Octavia cut her off.

"Bekka Pramheda gets her second shot at atonement," Sinclair finished.

"Get back to the mind pathway," Monty muttered, staring at the flame. "if A.L.I.E. uses it to upload our minds to the City of Light, then there's a chance my mom's still alive." He was hopeful, though Raven not so much.

She hated to be the pessimistic one, but Monty had to realise that there was a good chance that his mother truly was dead. "That depends on your definition of 'alive.'" Monty looked down sadly, while Jasper casted a look of concern towards his friend.

Bellamy could hear a light, constant tapping coming from beside him. He looked crossed and noticed Elena bouncing her right leg up and down nervously while chewing on her bottom lip. The moment she felt eyes on her, Elena released her lip, stilled her leg and looked up at him. "What is it?" He asked, knowing there was something bothering her.

She sighed quietly. By now, everyone else had tuned in on their conversation, so she turned her body to face the others. "What if Luna refuses to help?" She finally voiced her concern, one which weighed heavily on the others' shoulders.

"That's just not an option," Clarke replied evenly, trying to remain calm, despite the worry she felt. Elena nodded reluctantly, still unclear as to how they could possibly force Luna into helping them. She jumped ever so slightly when she felt a hand on her knee, glancing down at it and then up at its owner.

Bellamy could tell her worry hadn't subsided. She gave him a brief smile, but didn't place her hand on top of his like she once would have, and turned to face forward again. Nothing between them had been solved; they remained separated. However, there were moments where Elena felt as though she was on the brink of forgiveness, and they were occurring more and more often. Perhaps, she mused, it was because of everything that happened with Raven. When she had A.L.I.E. controlling her, she brought up many of the difficult times they had been through, during every single one of those times, Bellamy and Elena had stuck together, having complete faith in each other. Bellamy had gone down the wrong path recently, but not even that could change the fact that the couple had been through far too many hard times together. Could his bad choices really keep them apart forever? Did they really outweigh everything else the pair had been through? Elena wasn't so sure anymore. Her lips parted to release a small sigh as she tried to push away her thoughts on the complicated matter and try and concentrate on the more important stuff like saving everyone. Again. Noticing they were nearing Arkadia, Bellamy warned the others about being safe. "Eyes sharp. Weapons hot. We're almost home." He picked up the radio and held it to his lips. "Miller, come in." They only received static in return. "Harper, you there? Ride's two minutes out."

"Good start," Jasper murmured sarcastically.

Elena's brows furrowed and a frown settled on her lips. "Why aren't they answering?" She asked Bellamy. "You don't think something happened to them, do you?" She was worried about her friends, they wouldn't just not answer.

Bellamy shook his head, glancing at her and then back at the path ahead. "I don't know."

* * *

When they were just about hidden in the trees, everyone jumped out, bar Raven, who still wasn't in any state to run about, let alone fight, Jasper, who was aiming his gun outside the sunroof, and Monty, who stayed behind to drive the rover. With their weapons at the ready, they took off toward their home.

"We left two days ago," Clarke noted, looking around the barren camp. "Why haven't they fixed the gate?"

"Maybe because there's no one here to fix it," Jasper replied.

"It's like a ghost town," Raven said quietly, wondering where everyone was.

"Miller, where the hell are you?" Bellamy growled into the radio. "I don't like this."

Elena hummed in agreement, holding her sword out in front of her cautiously. "It's way too quiet, even if they were waiting attacked, they would've done by now."

"Maybe they got chipped," Jasper offered as an explanation.

"If they got chipped, they'd been waiting for us at the cave," Bellamy dismissed the idea.

"Maybe they saw the open gate, went in for Lincoln's book."

"Maybe you should stop saying 'maybe'." Octavia quipped, growing annoyed with Jasper's constant use of the word.

Clarke searched the area with her eyes, but there really was no one there. "If they are chipped, A.L.I.E. already knows we're coming." They came to a stop in the middle of the camp.

Octavia looked down and noticed bloodstained mud. She gritted her teeth in an attempt to remain calm. "Let's get his book and get the hell out of here."

Jasper nodded, more than happy to leave quickly. "That's a plan I can support." Octavia walked off in a hurry, making Clarke give Elena and Bellamy a questioning look.

Elena's eyes softened as watched Octavia walk away. "Lincoln," she whispered sadly. Bellamy swallowed but didn't say anything as he walked up to the back of the rover and gave it a light slam, signalling Monty to move. Elena placed a hand on Clarke's shoulder, who had been staring at the ground. "C'mon."

* * *

They entered the main hall, which was just as deserted as the outside.

"Close it up," Bellamy called out his orders, "turn the rover around. We may need to get out of here quickly." The gate was quickly closed. They began observing the place, looking at the plates of food and decks of playing cards that were scattered across the table.

Clarke raised a brow. "Looks like they just got up and walked away."

"Just what the hell happened here?" Elena murmured to herself as she looked around.

Bellamy came up behind her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I don't know," she turned back to look at him as he spoke quietly to her, "but we can't stick around to find out." She nodded understandingly. He raised his voice slightly to address the others. "We're in and out. Pack as much gear as you can into the rover.'

"I'll get the map," Octavia insisted, leaving immediately with no room to argue.

"I'll, uh, go with her," Jasper stammered, a little freaked out by being in an abandoned camp. "No one should be alone," he reasoned.

"You don't want to load gear, huh?" Sinclair guessed with a slight smirk.

"Not even a little," Jasper answered honestly.

"What's the rush?" Raven asked. "They won't be coming back," she grinned slightly. Staying and working to figure things out at the camp for a while would be their best shot at beating A.L.I.E.

Clarke frowned. "How do you know?"

"A.L.I.E.'s mission is to chip everyone. It wouldn't make sense to return to a place she already took."

"Might make sense if there were someone in that place…" Sinclair interrupted the conversation, "i.e., you... who could tell us stuff like that."

"Good point," Raven pointed at him, nodding her head. "Let's load gear."

Elena noticed Bellamy leaving the room out of the corner of her eye and ran after him. "Bellamy, wait!" He halted immediately at the sound of her voice, turning to face her. "I'm coming with you." Bellamy couldn't help but be shocked at that. Elena knew it was odd for her but ever since they had comforted each other when facing off with A.L.I.E., she couldn't help but feel like something had changed.

"Uh, sure. I was just going to check the armoury," he informed her after shaking off the initial shock. "Let's go."

* * *

They reached the armoury and Bellamy kicked in the door, aiming his gun just in case someone was there. Luckily, it was just as empty as everywhere else.

"What if they took all the ammo?" Elena asked, eyes darting around the place.

"Then we're pretty screwed," Bellamy answered, opening the cupboard door and pulling out one of the draws. He grinned and called Elena's name to get her attention. Her eyes fell upon him and then down at the draw in his hands.

"They really must have just got up and left," she murmured, running her fingers across the bullets as if she didn't think they were real.

"We got lucky this time," he said to her before pulling out his radio. "Everyone finish what you're doing. Meet at the armoury."

"Why? What's going on?" Clarke asked, confused.

"You'll see when you get here. We just got lucky."

"On our way."

* * *

"They're taking too long," Elena noted, worried about their friends.

"I'm sure it's nothing," he tried to reassure her, but Bellamy was beginning to worry, too.

She looked at him incredulously, "it's never nothing, Bell," she was so distracted, she didn't even notice her slip of the tongue. Calling Bell was just second nature to her. It warmed his heart to hear her call him that. Maybe things were finally looking up for them. "I'm going to look for them," she sighed and she ran out of the room.

"Elena, wait!" Bellamy shouted after her, following close behind. She came to a stop in the middle of the courtyard, allowing Bellamy to catch up to her, and did a full turn, figuring out the best path to take. Her thoughts were interrupted by a cough.

"Elena!" Clarke's voice called out, making the brunette turn in the direction of her voice immediately. The blonde was running, well, more like stumbling, towards her.

"Clarke? What happened?" Elena questioned, catching her friend as she fell into her arms.

She panted heavily and looked up at Elena. "Emerson."

Elena shared an annoyed glance with Bellamy before muttering dryly, "great."

* * *

Walking through the hallways cautiously, Bellamy and Elena questioned Clarke on what exactly went down.

"Where's Monty?" Bellamy asked, holding his gun up, anticipating Emerson.

Clarke looked around, swallowing nervously. "Emerson took him."

"Why?" Elena wondered, aiming her sword at the ready.

Bellamy came to a stop and decided to try and get hold of the others through the radio. "Octavia, can you hear me? Come in."

"Jasper was with her," Clarke informed him.

"Jasper, are you there? Say something." There was nothing but static.

Distraught was written all over Clarke's face as she whispered, "Miller, Harper, Bryan, this is all my fault. I let Emerson live."

Elena and Bellamy shared a confused glance before facing the blonde. "What are you talking about?"

"In Polis, I had a chance to kill him, and I let him go."

Elena rubbed Clarke's shoulder soothingly, offering a brief sense of comfort to her. "You just did what you thought was the right thing to do. You didn't want anyone else to be killed," she said gently.

Raven, who was still in engineering, had heard Bellamy's panicked tone and was wondering what the hell was going on. "Bellamy, what's wrong?"

"Raven, are you ok? Where are you?"

"Still in Engineering. We're fine."

The trio sighed, relieved that someone was okay. Clarke grabbed the radio from Bellamy so she could warn them about Emerson before it was too late. "Raven, listen to me. Emerson is here. Are the others with you?

"Negative. Just Sinclair. Mount Weather Emerson?"

"Yes. Okay. Lock down the hangar bay. Don't let anyone in but us."

* * *

When they reached the hanger bay, the door was open. It was completely silent, not a good sign.

"Raven? Sinclair? Raven?" Bellamy called out, trying to keep his voice down. "After me," he told the girls, slipping in through the door.

"Oh my god," Elena whispered as her eyes fell on the body of Sinclair. She fell down beside him, rolling him onto his back and checking his pulse. Whatever hope she had quickly vanished when she didn't find one. Tears filled her eyes, "Not you as well, we've lost too many good people." She gently ran her hands over his eyes to close them.

Bellamy crouched down beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, looking up at Clarke, who was trying to hold back tears. "We're too late."

Clarke shook her head, refusing to believe that. They definitely weren't too late, there was still hope, there had to be. "No, we're not. He didn't kill Monty or Raven. He would have left their bodies," she argued, making Elena look at her hopefully. "He took them somewhere."

"You're right, now we just have to find them," Elena wiped away her tears and stood up, Bellamy following suit. "I'm betting he has Octavia and Jasper, too," she assured him, knowing he was worried about his sister. Bellamy nodded. "But where would he be taking them?"

"They could be anywhere," Bellamy shrugged, growing weary of all the complications they were facing. "Does he even know his way around?"

"Unfortunately, he somewhat does," Elena murmured with an inclination of her head. Bellamy threw her a questioning look, but it was Clarke who answered him.

"He was here," she began explaining, "you were in Mount Weather." And then it hit her. She knew where he was keeping them. "The airlock," she muttered, holding the radio up to her lips. "Emerson, I know you're listening. We need to talk."

There was a beat of silence before he answered. "I don't need to do anything. You should've killed me when you had the chance."

"And now you're here to kill me. Is that it?"

"Something like that."

"Then let my friends go. Do that, and you can have me."

"You're brave, Clarke. I'll give you that."

"Clarke, no," Elena whispered to Clarke. She couldn't just allow her best friend to hand herself over to be killed.

"I know what I'm doing," she assured Elena, who turned on her heel and started pacing nervously.

"They're lucky to have a friend like you," Emerson smirked, "come to the airlock, no weapons, right now."

"Here," Clarke pushed the radio into Bellamy's hand.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked, annoyed that she was giving in so easily.

"Saving them." Clarke turned to Elena and held out the flame. "Look. When it's over, take this to Luna. Raven'll know what to do with it. Promise me."

Elena shook her head, scoffing at the blonde's stupidity. "There's no way we're letting you do this alone."

"Elena's right," Bellamy was quick to agree, "you're out of your mind if you think we'd let you go without us."

"This is my fault. I'm not letting anyone else die for my mistake, okay?" Clarke said, voice thick with emotion. She was tired of adding more and more blood to her hands. She didn't want to lose anyone else. She tried to shove the flame into Elena's hand, "so take it."

Elena grabbed her wrist before she could and held it in place. "Stop acting like a spoiled brat, Clarke," she snapped, knowing the only she'd get through to Clarke is through harsh words. "This," she shook the girl's arm, making Clarke's eyes focus on the flame, "is Lexa. It belongs with you. I don't know the details about what down with you and Emerson in Polis and honestly," she took a step closer to her, "I. Don't. Care. I am not letting him kill you, you got that?" Clarke was speechless. She was two take aback that her mouth simply couldn't form words, just opening and closing.

Bellamy smirked and shook his head good-naturedly at Elena's blunt words. "Listen," he spoke up and the two girls looked at him, "you distract him," he said to Clarke, "I shoot him."

"That's a much better plan," Elena commended with a grin.

Clarke nodded slowly and smiled gratefully at the two, allowing her eyes to fill with tears. "Okay."

* * *

"We need to get them out of there," Elena frowned as she peered round the corner and saw their friends locked in the airlock. She knew Emerson was vengeful enough to actually go through with killing them, which she couldn't let happen. As far as she could tell, Emerson was keeping tabs on their location and it was likely that he knew exactly where they were right now. "I'm going round the other side," she decided, turning to face the other two.

"What? No," Clarke panicked in a hushed tone. "We need to stick together. I'll go out and distract him while Bellamy shoots him."

"That won't work, Clarke! He's known the whereabouts of everyone the entire time we've been here. I'm betting he's expecting us three to be together, he won't expect one of us to have split from the other two and appear from another direction," Elena explained, hoping to get through to her blonde friend. She knew Clarke would think it was risky to split up and that she especially wasn't willing to risk Elena's life.

"I'll go, then," Clarke replied but Elena wasn't having any of it.

"No, it's like you said, you need to distract him, you're the one he really wants," the brunette argued back heatedly, the frustration growing quickly. She took hold of her best friend's hands and squeezed them. "Just trust me, Clarke. This will work, it has to."

Bellamy stepped forward and placed his hand on Elena's shoulders from behind. "I trust her." Elena's lips parted from shock, surprised he would be willing to let her go through with this. She turned slightly to give him a small, but grateful smile before looking back at Clarke, who signed and nodded.

"Go," Bellamy squeezed her shoulders and watched as she nodded before quietly running off.

Clarke slowly walked into the room with the airlock with her hands up. "I held up my part of the deal. Your turn. Let my friends go."

"Tell Bellamy and Elena to show themselves first."

"I don't know what you're talk-" Emerson suddenly punched Octavia's stomach, making her grunt from the pain, and grabbed hold of her her, pulling her head back and holding a knife to her throat.

"No!" Bellamy ran out, aiming his gun at Emerson.

"Good. Now take out the clip. Throw it down the hall. Put the gun on the ground and get inside," Emerson demanded calmly.

"Please," Clarke begged, "you wanted me. I'll get inside once you let them go.'"

"I was talking to Bellamy." Emerson dragged the knife across Octavia's collarbone, letting the blood drip freely.

That was all Bellamy could take. "Okay, okay," he surrendered, "just...just stop," he stammered, pleading for his sister to be spared.

"Bellamy, don't," Clarke tried to convince him but when he heard Octavia's whimpers and saw the knife being pressed to her throat once more, he emptied the gun, put it on the ground and kicked it away. He held his hands up and walked into the airlock.

"Those are yours," Emerson gestured to the handcuffs on the wall. Bellamy cuffed himself and Emerson shoved Octavia's head away. "Elena, it's your turn. Come out or I'll kill your friends." When he was met with silence, he snorted. "No? Looks like she doesn't care about you guys very much," he grinned smugly, glancing at everyone in the airlock who all glared at him in return. They knew Elena would never abandon them, but where was she? There had to be some sort of plan. "That's fine. I'll kill her after I kill all of you," he muttered quietly to himself." He held his gun at Clarke. "Get on your knees, Clarke. Put your hands behind your head," she did as she was told, silently wishing for Elena to hurry up. Emerson walked out of the airlock and shut the doors.

Clarke's eyes widened when she realised he wasn't going to spare them. "No. You can do anything you want with me, okay? Just let them go!" She pleaded. Emerson walked behind her and yanked on her hair, pulling her up and shoving her against the door of the airlock. He wrapped an arm around her neck and held the gun to her head. "You murdered 381 people." Clarke gasped as he tightened his grip on her neck. "You took the lives of my children, my brother, my friends. Did you really think that I would be happy with just one life in return, hmm?" Everyone in the airlock looked on at Clarke, some with tears in their eyes, others with looks of disbelief that they had all been taken down so easily. He yanked her away towards the control panel and hit the button, which took all of the oxygen out of the airlock. They all began choking, not being able to breathe properly. Those who were standing begin slipping down the wall, unable to stand anymore. "Now you're gonna feel what I felt." Emerson shoved Clarke against the door again, making her watch her friends die. "Beg me to stop it. I told you to beg!" He spat.

"I'm begging you," Clarke whimpered.

"Louder!"

"Please!" She screamed.

"Bellamy,,," Octavia managed to choke out. Maybe she was looking for comfort and reassurance from the strong, brave big brother she had always known? She wasn't sure. All she knew was that she wanted to share a glance with her brother one last time. Tears streamed down Clarke's face, this really is the end, she thought. Suddenly, a sword came flying through the air, landing perfectly in the centre of the control panel. Sparks flew around it, signalling it's malfunction. The door opened and the red light which cloaked the airlock was replaced with regular lighting as the oxygen travelled back through the vents, allowing everyone to greedily gulp up the air.

"No!" Emerson protested as he turned around to see the source of the failure of his plan, only to be met with a fist to the face.

"Sorry, I'm late," Elena grunted as she brought her elbow down on his head.

Clarke gasped, never having been so happy to see Elena. The brunette sent her knee flying into Emerson's face as she mouthed 'the flame' to Clarke, who nodded vigorously, pulling it out of her pocket. "Ascende superius," she shouted, shoving it into Emerson's neck, watching as he struggled to breathe and clawed at his head. He began violently coughing up blood and before taking one last final breath.

Elena approached him cautiously, waiting for him to make a sudden movement, but he remained still. She checked all of his pockets, quickly finding what she was searching for: the key to the handcuffs. Deciding it was best to let those standing down first, she made her way to Miller, unlocking the cuffs and catching him before he completely fell. She carefully lowered him to the floor and then went over to Octavia, who looked at her with such terrified eyes. Elena reached up and gently pulled the gag down from her mouth before reaching up and unlocking the handcuffs, wrapping her hands around Octavia as the girl fell into her. Elena held her tightly, allowing her unshed tears to fall freely. "Here, sit down," she whispered, helping Octavia sit down on the ground.

"You saved us," Octavia said quietly.

Elena smiled through her tears, "of course I did." She placed a kiss on Octavia's forehead and then moved onto to Bellamy. Elena made quick work of unlocking his cuffs and lowering him to the ground, before hugging him tightly, feeling him return the hug with whatever energy he could muster.

"I knew you'd make it in time," he smiled, burying his face in her hair.

She laughed a little, "it was a little hit or miss for a second there."

Bellamy shook his head. "Never doubted you for a second." She pulled back and they shared a smile.

"Um," a voice coughed. "A little help, please?" Jasper croaked out with a lethargic smile.

Elena shot up, "right, sorry!"

* * *

Bellamy carried Lincoln's body into the courtyard.

Octavia knelt down beside him and uncovered his face. She gasped, all of their memories together - good and bad - came rushing back and her heart ached and yearned for him. She couldn't contain her overpowering sorrow any longer. "No," she trembled, before sobbing loudly. Sheleaned down and kissed his forehead and looked back at her brother, who looked away guiltily.

* * *

The bodies of Lincoln and Sinclair had been placed upon a makeshift table made of wood. Everyone surrounded it, readying to say goodbye to their friends and send them off with honour. Octavia held a torch in her hand, which she lowered onto the wood, before stepping back and watching the flames flicker and grow. "_Yu gonplei ste odon_."

"_Yu gonplei ste odon,_" everyone else repeated.

"_Yu gonplei ste odon,_" Elena heard Bellamy whisper from beside her. She turned her head to look at him as he watched Octavia over the fire with guilt filled eyes. She sighed sadly and reached out for his hand, holding onto it tightly as she turned back to the fire. Bellamy glanced at her, once again shocked by her actions, but gratefully accepted the comfort and clung onto her hand tighter than he ever had before.

Octavia looked at her brother, but he refused to meet her eyes. "It's time to go," she instructed. "I'll get the map," she walked off, missing Bellamy's longing glance at her.

* * *

Clarke, Bellamy, Jasper and Elena were back in the main hall, loading the rover up, when Raven and Monty came hobbling over to them with their arms linked for support. Behind them was Miller, Harper and Bryan.

"Hey, we're leaving. Why aren't you ready?" Bellamy asked, knowing they couldn't waste any more time.

"We're not going with you," Raven declared with a slight smile, knowing they'd protest out of worry, which they did. She noticed how Elena's eyes widened and worry washed over her face and how Clarke stepped forward with a protest about to leaving her lips. "He can barely walk, and my shoulder's killing me," she argued, cutting the blonde off before she could say anything to change their minds. "My brain's all kinds of awesome."

Monty elaborated on Raven's claim. "She remembered that A.L.I.E. downloaded herself into the Ark mainframe. If the code is still there, we might be able to find a back door."

"I'm guessing once you connect A.L.I.E. 2 to Luna, we'll need to access A.L.I.E. 1 to take her down."

"Miller," Bellamy called to his friend.

"We'll keep them safe," Miller nodded.

"I'll keep them safe," Harper joked, nudging Miller's side.

"How about you?" Bellamy asked Jasper. "It's gonna be dangerous."

Jasper shrugged, "you know me well. I'm in."

Bellamy nodded, "okay." Everyone hugged each other and bid each other goodbye and good luck before the group of five left in the rover, ready to find Luna and save their people.


	65. Join or Die

**Flashback:**

Elena crossed her arms and huffed, glaring at everyone who dared to look at her. It wasn't that she loved being in solitude in her cell but she was not in the mood for whatever hell the Chancellor and her father were about to put her through. She had already learned and aced earth skills, so why the hell did she need to listen to the lectures again? As they were ushered into their former classroom, she passed her father, locking eyes with him briefly before sending a sneer in his direction and looking away, never looking back to witness his worried glances. Elena glared holes into the floor until she heard her name being whispered quietly and looked up into the warm, loving eyes of Abigail Griffin. She felt a sudden warmth rush through her heart as she smiled, eyes slowly tearing up. Abby hurriedly took the girl into her arms, squeezing her tightly until Jaha told her she had to let go.

Elena's jaw clenched at his disruption but she knew she couldn't receive too much special attention. She grabbed hold of Abby's arm quickly. "Please just tell me Clarke is doing okay," she pleaded. Abby looked perplexed, which confused Elena. The older woman was surprised that Elena didn't know what had happened but remembered that the guards had informed her that Elena was somewhat of a recluse, she didn't venture out of her cell often, nor did she even try and attempt to talk to the other prisoners when the opportunity presented itself. She didn't answer Elena's question, she couldn't bring herself to do it, and so she allowed Elena to be distracted by the young brunette who took hold of Elena's hand and looked up at her fearfully. "Octavia?" Elena whispered, "Oh my god, O!" She pulled the latter into a tight hug and guided the girl to a couple of seats at the front of the room.

"What's going on?" Octavia asked, glancing at all of the other teenagers that surrounded them nervously.

"It's just an earth skills lesson," Elena informed her, stroking her hair to calm her down.

"Earth Skills? Like what you and Bell used to learn?"

"Yeah, exactly."

Octavia frowned, she didn't understand. "But why?" Elena shrugged and shook her head wordlessly.

"It's the girl under the floor," a boy, Nathan Miller to be exact, murmured to a few of the others. Octavia shifted around uncomfortably.

Elena, noticing the discomfort of her little sister, turned around and hissed at him, "shut up," before turning back and placing a comforting hand on Octavia's. The boy looked sheepish at having been caught by Elena and sat down quietly.

"Welcome to Earth Skills," their teacher, Charles Pike, began the class.

* * *

**Current Day:**

Driving for a long time had taken a toll on everyone. The weather was miserable and their moods weren't much better. Elena sat in the passenger seat, head leaning against the window as she stared blankly into the never-ending rain. She still had her doubts about finding Luna and, if they did, whether she'd help them. She trusted Lincoln completely but when was the last time he saw Luna? How did he know she hadn't changed? Time changes people, all you needed to do was take one look at them to realise that.

Jasper had been keeping a close eye on the map, comparing its locations to the ones they drove through. "It's been an hour since we passed the airplane wreckage. Seeing as we're using a map without any distances, it could be days before we reach Luna's village."

"At least we know we're going the right direction," Bellamy said to try and keep the hope alive, though it was only a half-hearted attempt.

"We're running out of daylight. We should stop in the sun, recharge the battery," Jasper argued, he wanted to save everyone but they wouldn't make it there if they continued like this.

Elena scoffed and turned to look at him. "What sun, Jas?" She waved her hand over at the windshield where the rain continued to splatter down on it. "It's torrential rain out there. I don't think it's stopping anytime soon."

"Yeah," Clarke agreed, "and neither are we. We keep going until it dies."

Octavia didn't completely agree with Clarke, so she corrected her. "We keep going until we get to Luna." Thunder boomed from the sky, which Elena mused was perfect timing as it made the moment feel a little more ominous.

Jasper, obviously defeated by the three women, - who you definitely didn't want to mess with - flipped through the pages of the journal and found a drawing of a female with a fierce look in her eyes. "This her?" He directed his question at Octavia.

"Yes."

"What do you think she's gonna say when we show up asking to put an A.I. in her head?" He reiterated the question Elena had been asking all along.

"Lincoln said she helps those that are in trouble. She'll help us, too," she assured them. Bellamy hit the brakes when a large tree trunk came into view, blocking the path.

Jasper sighed, making a joke to lighten the atmosphere a little. "Think she can help us find a better map?" He only earned himself an eye roll from Octavia.

Bellamy sighed, assessing the situation. "Backtrack. We'll find somewhere where the trees aren't so bad," he was cut off by the back door swinging open and Octavia jumping out. "Hey!"

"I can't be stuck in here for any longer," Elena complained, throwing the door open and running after the more reckless Blake.

Clarke groaned at the two brash girls, who were just too alike at the moment. "Guess we're going on foot."

"Anyone hear the part where I said it could be days?" Jasper quipped, though he was being serious. They all ran after the girls.

"Stop," Octavia came to a halt and listened to their surroundings. "You hear that?" In the background, there was the clear sound of rushing water, which was like music to their ears.

"Water," Clarke whispered with a slight smile.

"Eyes sharp," Bellamy shouted, holding his gun up, "they could be hostile."

"They're not hostile!" Octavia snapped. "Put the guns down."

Elena saw Bellamy hesitate so she took a step towards him and gently lowered his gun with her hand. "It's okay." They all continued forward, following the flowing water until they reached a vast body of water. "The ocean," Elena whispered, mesmerised by the rippling waves. Bellamy stole a glance at her face, allowing a small smile to slip onto his face at the sight of her amazement.

"Where's the village?" Jasper enquired, only seeing water and trees and not much else.

Octavia looked down at the map and then back up at the crosses made out of stones. "No. Oh, no. It can't be." She took off towards the stones, making everyone else follow her.

"This isn't a village. It's just a bunch of rocks," Jasper concluded once they reached them.

Clarke's let out a sigh of defeat. "She's gone."

"What do we do now?" Jasper threw his hands up. Octavia let out a loud, frustrated scream.

* * *

**Flashback:**

Slumping back in her seat, Elena stared blankly at Pike, who was creating fire using wood and rope. Glancing beside her, she laughed silently as she noticed Octavia's look of bewilderment. The young girl had never been to an earth skills class before, so of course she'd be interested. Hell, even Elena had been interested the first time around.

"The ability to make fire kept the human race alive during the Ice Age," Pike explained as he finally created a flame. "There we go. Who knows? It may do the same for us someday." He gently blew on the flames until the fire grew. "Voilà…" He held out his arms, presenting the fire to them, "the difference between life and death." Someone began slow clapping from the back of the class, namely John Murphy. Elena spared him a brief glance, then abruptly rolled her eyes at him. He was such an ass. Pike took it in his stride, taking the opportunity to create a teaching moment. "Thank you, Mr. Murphy. Perhaps you'd like to tell us the key to surviving on the ground."

Murphy grinned. "No, not really. No."

"Miss Blake, how about you?" Elena straightened up as Pike called upon Octavia, drawing everyone's attention to the girl. "The key to survival on Earth, what is it?"

"Not dying?" She answered hesitantly.

The class began to laugh, sending Elena's protective instincts into overdrive. She flew out of her seat and faced them, "keep laughing but she's actually not wrong. I bet most of you don't even know the answer to the question anyway," she growled, making them all quieten down.

Murphy scoffed, "you think you're so tough, protecting the scared little girl, don't you Kane? We all know you're just Daddy's little girl who's going to get all the special treatment."

Elena breathed a laughed, "'special treatment'? Please, they've stuck me in the same room with you, clearly, I'm being punished." The teens started snickering quietly.

"Okay, that's enough! Miss Kane, sit down," he ordered, which Elena reluctantly obliged, making Murphy grin, "and Mr Murphy, I suggest you shut your mouth," which made Elena smirk. Octavia nudged Elena's leg, making her look over, and mouthed a thank you. Elena smiled and nodded, mouthing 'anytime'. Pike continued his class, trying to stress the importance of his lessons without revealing the sombre truth. "We've got a lot to learn here: making fire, tying knots, how to navigate using the stars, how to hunt. You have to learn which plants you can eat and which-"

"Which ones we can smoke?" Jasper Jordan grinned and nodded lethargically at his own joke, making a few others laugh.

"Mr. Jordan, that is precisely why we had to separate you and Mr. Green." Jasper hummed a understandingly at that. "Listen. The answer to my question. The key to surviving on the ground and on the Ark is to keep fighting at all costs against all odds. The minute you give up, you're dead." Pike spotted Murphy whispering to others. "Am I boring you, Mr. Murphy?"

Murphy smiled and stated "I'll survive," confidently.

* * *

**Current Day:**

Gathering wood was their top priority. It would get cold soon, especially with them being by the sea, so they got to work and made a large pile of wood in the middle of the stones. Octavia was putting the skills she had learned in Earth Skills to good use, attempting to make a fire with a piece of wood and rope.

"It'll be dark soon," Clarke announced after observing the slowly darkening sky. She was worried since they had yet to come up with a plan. "We need to talk about what we're gonna do."

"We wait until first light," Octavia answered as if it was obvious, which it kind of was, "and then we split up and search the shore in both directions." She finally got a fire going and carried the flame over to the pile of wood.

"Nice. Yes," Jasper cheered, admiring her skills with an appreciative nod.

"I agree," Bellamy started, getting back to the matter at hand, "Lincoln wouldn't have put this spot on the map unless it was important," he leaned down to pick up Lincoln's book but Octavia slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch that," she hissed angrily. She didn't him anywhere near Lincoln's stuff.

Bellamy sighed, glancing at Elena, who looked away from him and at the ground sadly. Elena knew Octavia was nowhere near being able to forgive Bellamy but that didn't stop Bellamy's heartbroken look from affecting her. Bellamy crouched down beside his sister. "Come on, O. How long?"

"I don't know," she answered quietly, "I can't even look at you," she went to look at him but couldn't bring herself to, proving her point. Octavia gritted her teeth as images of Lincoln's death flashed through her mind, "because every time I do, I see Pike putting that gun to Lincoln's head. I hear the gunshot. I see him fall." The other three sat silently, almost feeling guilty for listening to such a personal conversation between the siblings.

"I didn't kill Lincoln," Bellamy stated. He wasn't guilty of that, he didn't do it. He had to make her see that.

"No," Octavia shook her head and stood up with Bellamy following suit, "but he is dead because of you."

"I came to you," Bellamy argued, "you didn't take my help. If you had just trusted me, I-" Octavia scoffed and threw the poked the fire with the stick inner hand, returning to her crouching position. Their conversation was over. Elena let out a silent a quiet sigh and walked over to Bellamy and placed a hand on his shoulder but not even her touch could quell his frustration. Bellamy's jaw clenched as he admitted defeat and walked off. Jasper threw something into the fire, which made it blaze and flash green for a second.

"What did you just do?" Octavia asked, alarmed at the sudden change in the fire.

"Nothing," Jasper defended himself, raising his hand to show what he was holding, "I just threw these in the fire."

Clarke and Elena frowned at Octavia's look of realisation. "What is it?"

Octavia grinned. "Signal fire. He was trying to tell us. This is how we contact Luna."

Jasper smiled and nodded, "I'll get more."

* * *

Elena watched Clarke cautiously approach Bellamy out of the corner of her eye after he had walked away to try and calm himself down. She was acutely aware of how painful it was for him to have Octavia hate him, to have both of them hate him, though she wasn't so sure it was like that anymore. Clarke had gone to try and comfort him but it clearly wasn't going well.

"Well, I don't need your help," Elena heard him snap at the blonde. The brunette chewed her bottom lip gently before groaning a little. What was she doing? She couldn't let Clarke handle him when he was like this. She wouldn't be able to calm him down. Sighing, Elena quickly made her way over to the pair. Bellamy had turned away, watching the sea. "Clarke," She spoke quietly, nodding her head in the direction of the group, "I've got this." Clarke's face expressed her obvious defeat as she nodded and returned to the others. Sliding her hands into the pockets of my jacket, Elena stood beside Bellamy and patiently waited for him to talk as they stared out into the ocean.

"I've lost her. I've lost both of you," tears flooded his eyes as all the emotions he had tried to repress rose to the surface.

"Bellamy," his name escaped her lips in a whisper. "I-"

He cut her off, she wasn't even sure if he realised she was about to speak. "Lincoln's blood is on my hands and Octavia will never forgive me for that."

"She needs time, Bellamy," she reiterated, once again. It was a phrase she had said a lot as of late. "Besides, you weren't the one who actually killed Lincoln."

A tear finally escaped and her eyes followed it closely as it slipped down his face. Seeing how torn up inside he was made her heart ache and yearn to comfort him. It had been so difficult to be apart from him and she could feel my resolve beginning to shatter. "Maybe not, but I supported the man who killed him. I put my faith and trust in his ideals."

He had done exactly that. Elena nodded, making no effort to deny the truth. "You did," she paused for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head, "but you tried to stop it." The tears rushed to Elena's eyes before she could even attempt to stop them and she took a step closer to him, placing herself directly in front of him. "Something I probably didn't give you enough credit for," she sighed. "God," she breathed a laugh, looking up to try and avoid crying, "I have been so unbelievably angry with you for everything." Bellamy looked down guiltily and nodded understandingly. He swallowed nervously and tried to blink back the tears. "But I'm so tired of feeling this way," Elena admitted weakly, bringing her hands up to cup his face so that he would look at her. Bellamy's eyes brightened up, filled with hope. "You've made one awful mistake after another, some that will take me a long time to forgive and get over, but I don't care about that anymore. I can't take feeling like this anymore; the heartbreak; the loneliness; the longing. You haven't lost me, Bell." By now, they both had tears streaming down their faces. "I love you, Bellamy Blake, and I never stopped. Right now, our people need to be saved," she sniffed quietly and added with a laugh, "again," as an after thought, "and honestly, I don't think I can do that without you by my side."

Bellamy leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers. "I love you," he murmured softly against her lips, finally saying the words in his usually sweet and loving tone that she'd been longing to hear. Bellamy's hands gripped her waist as he pulled her against him. "I love you so much," he moved one hand up to her hair, entangling it in the messy curls, and finally captured her lips in a deep, passionate kiss. Every emotion they had felt since even before the break up was poured into that one kiss; every feeling of sadness, loneliness, anger, longing, love. They were finally united as one once more, and you can bet Bellamy was never letting go of her ever again.

Pulling away, breathing heavily, she smiled up at him. "You haven't lost Octavia," her words were a mere whisper. She gently brushed her thumbs along his cheeks. "You're her brother; her family. No matter what she says, she will _always_ need you because, down here especially, family means _everything._ Trust me on that." He nodded, comforted by her words. "So for now, just focus on trying to forgive yourself, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed, leaning forward to kiss her gently before pulling her into a tight hug and burying his face in her hair. A sudden splash made him look up. Figures emerged from the waves and he could vaguely see weapons being pointed at them. The lovers were ripped apart and pushed to the ground with hands covering their mouths. Bellamy panicked, having only had Elena back in his arms for a second before she was taken from him again and struggled violently against his capture, only stopping when the man threatened Elena's life. It was after they were gagged, had their hands tied behind their backs and were being walked over to the others that Elena realised they were responding to the signal fire and she relaxed ever so slightly, sending Bellamy a look of reassurance.

* * *

When they reached the others, the one Elena supposed was the leader of the small grounder group stood in front of Octavia. "_Chon yu bilaik? Hakom yu don flag raun? (Who are you? Why did you signal?)_," he questioned her in trigedasleng. Elena was just glad one at least one of the ungagged could speak trigedasleng fluently. Grounders seemed a lot more lenient towards those who took the time to learn their language.

"_Ai laik Okteivia kom Skaikru en ai gaf gouthru klir._ _(I am Octavia of the Sky people and I seek safe passage.)_," Octavia answered rather calmly, given their current situation.

"Skaikru, bringers of death," he spat once he realised exactly whether were, and he obviously wasn't a fan. "Why should we give you safe passage?"

Octavia was silent for a moment before finally answering, "Lincoln. He sent us." Bellamy watched Elena visibly tensed as the leader observed them all, coming to a decision about what they should do with the captures, and wished he could comfort her.

"_Ban emo gaga we, en lus 'mo meika au. (Remove their gags, and free their hands.),_" the leader ordered. The way Elena's posture relaxed told Bellamy that they would be spared at the very least. Bellamy and Elena threw the gags away and quickly got to their feet.

He pulled the girl closer to him and kissed the top of her head. "What's going on?" He whispered to Octavia, assuming there may have been something in Lincoln's book about this.

"I don't know," she replied just as quiet. The man removed something from his pocket: a small pack of vials. He held one out to Octavia, looking at her expectantly.

"What is that?" Clarke asked suspiciously when he handed her one. Each of them received them, each of them were completely lost on what it was.

"Safe passage," he stated simply.

"Some sort of drug?" Elena murmured to herself. Bellamy frowned at her words and stared at the vial, trying to determine whether she was right.

"What does it do?" Jasper hesitantly enquired, not sure whether he actually wanted to know or not. Clearly, Octavia didn't give a damn. She had blind faith in Lincoln; everything would work out. She opened the vial and tipped it down her throat.

"Octavia, wait!" Bellamy yelled but it was too late.

"I trust Lincoln," she shrugged.

"If only she drinks, only she goes," the leader warned them.

Jasper put his vial up in a cheers motion, "see you on the other side," he toasted, before drinking the liquid.

Elena nodded, coming to her own conclusion. "I trust Lincoln, too." Taking a deep breath, she raised the lip glass to her lips, "here goes," and drank the liquid. Just as she swallowed it, Octavia started swaying before passing out.

"O!" Bellamy went to catch her but the leader held him back.

"Oh, crap," Jasper muttered, "oh, god," was the last thing he said before falling to the ground, unconscious. Elena groaned quietly, stumbling back a couple of steps.

"Elena!" This time the leader allowed Bellamy to catch her. He gently lowered her to the ground, scanning her face, only to see that her eyes had shut. Her head fell heavily against his shoulder. "Damn it," he cursed before throwing back his own vial of liquid. He had no choice, his girlfriend and sister had already made their choices and they were his choice. He carefully lowered himself andElena to the floor, witnessing Clarke drink the liquid before finally passing out.

* * *

**Flashback:**

"I just don't understand why they're making us take these lessons," Octavia whined. She was frustrated because no one had any idea what was going on and she felt uncomfortable being around a large amount of people who knew her - for a less than desirable reason. She didn't know them and she hated it. Elena was the only thing keeping her sane.

Elena was leaning back in her chair, examining her nails out of boredom. "Well, I could kinda understand why they'd teach you," she mused, "I mean, you didn't get to take the class the first time around so it makes sense. Making the rest of us take it again, though, makes no sense at all." She sighed and leaned forward in her seat. "Then again, I doubt half of these people even paid attention."

"Like we'll ever need to use these skills," Octavia frowned, sitting back in her seat and crossing her arms. "We'll never get to go to Earth."

Elena chuckled, "never say never, my little friend."

Octavia almost pouted but controlled herself since their were others around and she did not want to be perceived as childish. Her reputations already bad enough as it was. "I'm not little, I'm almost as tall as you," she pointed out.

Elena grinned and pinched the girl's cheek, "you'll always be little to me." Octavia tutted and brushed Elena's hand from her brush, though she was hiding a small smile. She had missed Elena so much. The only thing that would make this better was if Bellamy was there with them. She missed him and she knew Elena did, too.

"Can we just get out of here, seriously?" Murphy complained loudly from the back of the class.

"You got better things to do, Murphy?" Harper asked sarcastically.

Murphy smirked and walked towards her. "Oh, is that an offer, McIntyre?"

"Ugh, he's disgusting," Elena cringed under her breath, making Octavia snicker.

"You're an epic dick, Murphy," Harper spat, grossed out.

The doors finally opened and in came their teacher, who seemed a bit panicked. "Everybody take your seats," he typed in a code to lock the doors and walked to the front of the room. "Now! I'm sure all of you will be glad to know that we are officially done talking about Earth skills."

"Oh, great,"Murphy celebrated. "In that case…" he got up from his chair and made a move towards the doors.

"Sit down!" Pike barked but Murphy ignored him so he approached Murphy. "How would you feel about assisting me with today's lesson, Mr. Murphy?"

Elena frowned. "Where's he going with this?" She whispered, making Octavia look at her worriedly.

"Sign me up," Murphy accepted the proposal. He didn't expect, however, to be smacked across the face by his teacher.

Elena sat bolt upright in her seat. "Oh no…"

"What the hell was that fo-" Murphy began once he recovered from the hit, only to be smacked again. He didn't retaliate, though. He just raised his hands up in defeat and returned to his chair.

"I know all about you, John Murphy," Pike said, towering over the teen.

"Oh, you do, huh?"

"Yeah, I do. Mother drank herself to death after father was floated for stealing medicine to save you. That's a tough row to hoe. I'll give you that," he raised his voice, "so what does he do with the second chance his father gave his life to buy for him? Wasted it setting the arresting officer's quarters on fire." He waited for Murphy to reply but he didn't. "Say something." Waiting for a moment, Pike smacked the boy again.

Elena stood up this time. Murphy was a jackass but this wasn't right. "Pike, stop! He isn't doing anything wrong anymore!" But the teacher just ignored her. It was as if she hadn't even spoken.

"Do something."

Murphy sat up, spitting the blood out of his mouth. "You know, I get it…trying to teach us to fight back."

"Wrong," Pike sneered before grabbing Murphy by the shirt and slamming him agains the wall, punching him in the stomach several times.

"Stop! That's enough!" Elena screamed. Octavia quickly joined her protests. Pike threw Murphy on the ground, knocking several chairs over.

"Leave him alone!" Jasper shouted, trying to defend Murphy but Pike wouldn't listen.

He carried on beating Murphy and shouting at him. "No one is coming to help you. No one is coming to help any of you."

"Get off him! Get off him!"

Elena had no idea what had overcome Pike but she knew she had to do something to stop this. She ran over to the door and started frantically slamming her fists against it. "Dad! Dad, please!" It wasn't working. "Kane! Please! Anybody! Help us!" After several guys trying to stop Pike and Murphy being thrown to the ground another two times, Pike began strangling the boy. Elena grabbed Fox's and yanked her over to the door. "Keep trying to get their attention!" The girl nodded, close to tears and replaced Elena who ran over to Pike and Murphy.

"Is that all you got? It's gonna take more than the kids from your own station to save you. Who will save you?" Pike screamed in Murphy's face, tightening his grip on his throat.

Elena tried yanking Pike off of Murphy. "Pike, stop! You're killing him." A few of the boys tried to help her.

"Don't you see? This is life or death." Were Pike's final words before someone hit him over the head with a metal pole, distracting him long enough for them to shove him off of Murphy. Murphy was finally released, gulping in the air.

"Hey!" A voice shouted and Elena turned around to find her father walking into the room. Taking in his daughter's dishevelled and frantic state, he quickly reached her and his arm around her shoulders. "Are you alright?"

"He's insane," she hissed, glaring at the teacher.

Marcus furrowed his brow, not completely understanding what had just gone down. Elena realised what was happening and quickly detached herself from her father's grip, going over to Octavia and wrapping her arms around the startled girl. Marcus brushed off his daughter's cold attitude and turned to his friend. "Charles, you all right?"

"Fine," he answered.

"Are you out of your minds? What the hell is this?"

"This is graduation," Pike answered. "Congratulations. Class dismissed," he sounded like he was about to cry and that made Elena nervous.

* * *

Marcus and Abby stood aside and watched as the skybox prisoners were shuffled into the drop ship. Four men came from another hallway opposite the kids, carrying two stretchers. On those stretchers laid the unconscious Clarke and Elena.

"Wait!" Abby grabbed hold of one of their arms and they all halted.

Marcus watched as Abby approached the stretcher before turning away to let her have her final moment with her daughter. Coincidentally, in looking away, his eyes had fell upon the pretty face of his daughter. It had been so long since he had seen any other expression than a hard glare on her face. She looked so peaceful and unaware that it stirred some kind of emotion inside of him. Before he even realised he was moving, he was stood directly beside the stretcher, slowly crouching down her level. He swallowed harshly, clenching his jaw as he reached out a hand to brush away to stray curls that had fallen across her face. "I'm so sorry," his voice trembled quietly. He felt weak and he hated it but this was his daughter; his little girl. Marcus leaned forward and pressed one last kiss against her forehead. "I love you so much, Elena, even if I didn't always show it." Swallowing again, he pushed back any tears that may have gathered in his eyes and stood back against the wall with Abby. They remained silent, watching their children go, deep down knowing this would likely be the last time they ever saw them. "She knows, right?" He asked quietly, feeling panic start to rise within him. He turned to the woman beside him. "She knows how much I love her, right?"

Abby was alarmed by the amount of emotion she could clearly see in his eyes. Ever since the death of his wife, maybe even before that, Marcus had never been one to present his emotions to anyone. He was cold and it frustrated her, she couldn't ever read him. However, in that moment, she knew all too well what he was feeling. A parent feeling the loss of a child, not knowing if they had done a good enough job of raising and loving their kid. She knew the pain and the fear he was feeling. Abby grabbed Marcus' hand tightly, offering the comfort they both needed. "She knows."

* * *

**Current Day:**

Her head felt heavy when she came to. Sitting up slowly, she saw Bellamy and Clarke still passed out of the floor beside her. Elena observed her surroundings: a large metal cage with a bunch of holes in it. Luckily, the holes allowed light to flow through.

"Our swords are gone," Octavia's pissed off voice came from her right.

Elena frowned and patted her sides for her sword. It wasn't there. "No, no, that's not good. How are we supposed to defend ourselves?"

"The guns, duh," Jasper groaned, sitting up.

"'Duh' yourself," Elena sassed him, "check either side of you."

Jasper patted the floor beside him and noticed he was lacking a weapon. "Well, damn, we're screwed." That earned him an intense eye roll from Elena.

"Where the hell are we?" Bellamy's voice was still raspy from being unconscious.

Elena turned to him and broke the bad news, "our weapons were taken from us."

"Why can't you ever give me some goods news?" He joked, even though he was worried and annoyed.

"You know me, I love being the bearer of bad news," she shrugged, gaining a slight laugh from him. Octavia began slamming against the wall, stopping when the door opened and in came the blinding flow of light. A girl about Clarke and Elena's age stepped inside. She had wild, untamed curls and a fierce gaze. They knew immediately who she was.

"Luna," Octavia spoke, relieved that she chose to trust in Lincoln.

Luna glanced at them all. "Where's Lincoln?"

"Lincoln is dead." Luna looked down, the hurt and anguish clear as day on her face.

"Lincoln said that you would help us," Clarke told her. She wanted to get straight down to business.

"Did he?" Luna raised her brows.

"Luna, you're the last of your kind, the last Nightblood."

"So Lexa's dead, as well."

"Her spirit has chosen you to become the next Commander. Titus entrusted me with the Flame to give to you."

"Then he should have told you that I left my conclave swearing to never kill again," the grounder informed them.

"Then you don't have to kill. To lead is your birthright. How you lead is your choice. Here," Clarke removed the flame from the box and presented it to Luna.

"I recognise the sacred symbol, but what is that?" She had never seen the small device before, despite its obvious relevance to becoming the commander.

"This is the Flame that holds the spirits of the Commanders, of Lexa. Will you take it and become the next commander?" Clarke smiled at Luna. She couldn't not say yes, it was her destiny to become the next commander.

Luna was quiet for a moment, contemplating her decision. Just when they thought she was about to accept the proposal, she answered, "no." Removing her hand from Clarke's, she walked away.

"Hey, wait!" Clarke called out to her. They all ran out of the box. Fresh air and the warm sun greeted them, along with the ocean. Nothing but the ocean.

"So how do we get out of this one?" Elena wondered, just throwing the question out there. Where did they go from here?


	66. Red Sky at Morning

**Fancied a bit of a throwback to my old style of writing, still not sure of which one I prefer. Does it make a difference to you guys?**

* * *

**Elena's POV:**

"Everywhere I looked, there were fins. And teeth. And blood." Luna had invited us to sit in the main room and listen to the stories of survivors. Seems pretty appropriate to me, seeing as we had been constantly fighting for our lives ever since we landed on Earth. I sat beside Bellamy, resting my head on his shoulder. Clarke had the ridiculous idea that she could sway Luna, who clearly had everything she needed and wanted here. Not to mention she's a grounder which automatically makes her as stubborn as they come, and that's coming from me. Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I started listening to the current speaker. She was a girl in her late teens and as I let my eyes wander around the room, I noticed that the girl had gained the interest of a certain Jasper Jordan. I grinned and leaned towards him. "She's cute," I let a smirk slip onto my lips as his jaw dropped. Personally, I thought it may be a good opportunity for him to move on from all the pain and suffering he had gone through after Maya's death.

I watched as Jasper shuffled awkwardly in his seat, "she's not that cute," he muttered. I couldn't help but laugh at his stubbornness and roll my eyes at him.

"I knew if they saw me, I'd be next, so I just floated there, waiting, praying they'd swim on. But they didn't." The door opened and in came Luna, flanked by a man.

"She's here," Bellamy announced, "maybe she changed her mind."

I scoffed at the thought, "yeah, right," I heard him sigh. Sitting up, I turned to my blonde best friend, "she's not going to take it, Clarke. She's made herself very clear."

Clarke shook her head. "I refuse to accept that." And with that, she walked over to Luna.

"So stubborn," I shook my head disapprovingly. Why is everyone being so stubborn today?

"I'm surprised you aren't up there with her, pushing Luna to take it," Octavia perked up, looking at me expectantly.

I raised a brow, "and what's that supposed to mean?"

"Lena," I hummed in response, "you're the most stubborn person I've ever met."

"Okay, first of all, I resent that. Second of all, at least I know when to let it go," I argued my case. "Isn't it time to start talking about an alternative plan?"

"Look, you have a point, Princess, but Clarke isn't going to be swayed on this and she's the one who has the flame, so we're just going to have to wait until she realises that her plan isn't going to work." He stood up and offered his hand out to me. "Come on." I sighed and took it. He pulled me up and wrapped an arm around my waist, kissing the top of my head.

"Finally, I decided. Live or die," The girl declared as we walked over to Luna.

"The boats return at nightfall," she informed us, "then you leave. Forever."

"Luna, let us explain," Clarke pleaded desperately, but Luna was having none of it and, quite frankly, I wasn't surprised.

"I said no."

"No, you need to hear this!" Bellamy said sharply, stepping towards Luna. Her little follower, however, did not take kindly to that and threw his arm out in front of Bellamy so he couldn't get any closer. Bellamy glanced at the guy, before looking to Luna and lowering his voice. "There is something out there that is going to destroy us all."

Luna brushed him off completely. "Whatever it is, it can't reach us here."

I rolled my eyes. Clearly, they weren't getting anywhere being all sceptical. "Look, Luna," I placed myself in front of her, glaring when her guard quietly growled. Maybe I should start referring to him as a dog. "To be quite honest with you, we're only here because there is an incredibly powerful enemy on the loose and we have been trying to figure out how to beat her. Turns out, the only way to defeat her is to use whatever magical information is in that flame, which requires a commander to access it, which needs a nightblood and the only nightblood left is you. So, do you think you could give us a break and help us out? Or do you not care about other people dying?" I looked at her with what I can imagine was a mixed look of annoyance and impatience. I spared glances at the people stood either side of me. Clarke was wide-eyed, gaping like a fish and Bellamy was smiling slightly while shaking his head.

She raised a brow and looked over me. "You're quite blunt," I swear she almost cracked a smile, but knowing her I was probably just seeing things.

"I am when I need to be," I answered shortly.

Luna inclined her head towards me. "I won't take the flame but I will give you safe passage back to shore. It's a good deal, I'd take it if I were you," she advised and walked over to Octavia.

"Are you crazy?" Clarke hissed at me.

"Like your method was working," I hissed back, earning a huff from her. I crossed my arms and turned back to the speaker, hoping O might have better luck with Luna.

* * *

We returned to our seats, watching as the girl, who I learned was called Shay, walked over to Jasper and spoke with him.

"Jasper's actually smiling," Bellamy murmured.

"Well, a cute girl will do that to him," I grinned at him, making him chuckle quietly. I noticed Clarke constantly looking at Luna and the smile dropped off of my face. "Enough, Clarke. I already told you, she's not going to take it or did you not get that by her constant 'no's?"

Clarke glared at me, "we can't just leave, Elena. This entire plan rests on Luna taking the flame."

"Then it's time for a new plan."

"Elena's right," Octavia agreed, staring blankly at the fire. "Besides, it's not like we have much of a choice."

"Maybe we do," Clarke suggested. Something about her tone made me immediately suspicious.

"What are you talking about?" Bellamy asked, clearly as suspicious as I was.

"I'm talking about putting this," she held out the flame, "into her head without asking."

My eyes widened at her new plan. "No. Absolutely not. That's wrong, Clarke, on so many levels."

"This isn't like Emerson," Octavia added in a hushed whisper, "he was trying to kill us."

"You think I don't know that?"

"We can't force her to fight for us if she doesn't want to," I tried to get Clarke to realise she was being crazy, "and even if you did put that thing in her head forcefully, what's to say she won't refuse to help us still."

"S-she'll have to," Clarke stuttered, clearly she hadn't completely thought this through.

"And how could you possibly take her on? She's nightblood, right? So she's been trained to fight her entire life. I think you need to remember that she said she chooses not to fight, not that she can't fight."

"Titus told me she left because she's weak," Clarke would not let this plan go.

"Clarke," Bellamy cut in, "we don't have to do this. We can fight and go back to Arkadia. We arm up," he assured her.

"Fight who?" Clarke shot back, "it's an army of our own people. I don't like this any more than you do. But if Raven's right and the code on this thing can stop A.L.I.E… Give me a better idea," she pleaded. But there wasn't a better idea, as much as I hated to admit it.

"We'll stay here. It's the only way they'll leave you alone with her," Bellamy concluded, signalling that this was our plan now.

I shook my head, "This can't possibly work."

"Even A.L.I.E. gives people a choice," Octavia growled when Clarke went to leave.

"We gave Luna a choice. She said no," Bellamy replied.

* * *

I was tapping my foot against the ground repeatedly, really not caring if it bothered anyone. I felt so guilty about what we were doing to Luna.

"Elena, stop," Bellamy demanded but in a soft, gentle voice. He stopped my tapping by placing a hand on my leg.

"Sorry that forcing someone to fight for us against their will makes me anxious," I spat, knocking his hand off of my leg.

He sighed and brushed some of the hair away from my face. "I don't like this either, but we had no choice."

"We have Raven," I pointed out. After all, she stayed behind for a reason.

"I'm pretty sure not even Raven can stop A.L.I.E. without any help," Bellamy stated sadly.

I turned towards him, throwing my legs over his lap. "I just can't believe it's come to this. It's not fair."

"Neither is letting our people and the grounders fall pray to A.L.I.E." He leaned forward and kissed me lightly. "I know you don't like this plan, but Luna really is our only hope."

I was about to reply when Clarke walked up to us with a miserable look on her face. I stood up, meeting her face to face. "I can tell by your face that plan went about as well as it did when the plan was to simply ask Luna, i.e. not well at all."

"Turns out she's stronger than I was told," Clarke muttered, "she has the flame now."

"What?" I exclaimed. I can't believe she managed to pry that from Clarke's fingers.

"I can have it back when we leave."

"So, just to conclude, you tried forced the flame on her and she overpowered you, just like I said she would," I specified, hoping that Clarke would finally give up on Luna. She was going to get us into trouble if she continued.

"You were right, okay?" she sighed. "We leave when it gets dark."

* * *

"Where's Jasper?" Bell enquired, glancing around for our friend. We were following Luna to the boat that will take us to shore.

"Saying good-bye to his new friend," Octavia answered. I felt awful for Jasper, he meets someone who can make him smile again and then he has to leave her.

The doors to the metal room we had woken up in opened and out stepped the men who brought us here. "Sorry, Cap," Luna apologised to the man in charge, "you gotta take them back. Your gear," she chucked a bag into the room, "you'll get your weapons once you land."

"Inside," the men shoved us inside. We got inside, all but Clarke, that is.

"The Flame?" She asked, more like demanded.

"Remember, Clarke," Luna held the flame in front of the blonde's face, "the path of violence is a choice."

"When the choice is fight or die, there is no choice." Suddenly, Luna's men started attacking the captain's group and Luna, shoving Clarke inside the room and slamming the doors shut.

Octavia ran to the door, banging on it. "Hey!"

"They took the Flame," Clarke cried as she rushed to her feet.

I ran over to the doors and began hitting and kicking them. I heard the sound of a lock clicking into place. "They're locking us in. Hey!"

"What is this?" Clarke screamed.

"Luna's people are attacking her," Bellamy began, "A.L.I.E.'s here."

Octavia grabbed the bag and pulled out one of the flashlights, shining it around the room in hopes of finding a way out. "How did A.L.I.E. even find this place?" She asked, kicking the walls continuously.

"There was a drone at Niylah's," Bellamy recalled, "she must've followed us looking for the Flame and now she has it. She's gonna put the A.I. in Luna."

"She'd have to chip her first," Clarke spoke from her place on the floor. "If Luna's chipped before she gets the A.I., A.L.I.E.'s gonna know everything. We'll never be able to stop her. We can't let that happen." Clarke jumped up and began slamming her fist against the doors.

"Oh my god," I murmured.

"What?" Bellamy asked, turning to me.

"Jasper's out there, what if A.L.I.E. hurts him or worse…makes him take the chip." It was a horrifying thought but those guys were huge and knew how to fight. Jasper was weaponless and combat wasn't exactly his forte. A.L.I.E. could easily force him to take it.

"We can't let ourselves think like that," Bellamy told me, placing his hand on my shoulder, "for now let's just try to find a way out." I nodded, but I knew I wouldn't stop worrying about Jasper.

"I'm sorry, Luna," Octavia whispered.

"Me, too," I added, just as quietly.

* * *

We couldn't get the doors open. We use sat there, listening to the wind howl.

"This place was safe until we got here," Octavia reminded us bitterly. Suddenly, the lock was undone and the faint sound of someone groaning echoed through the room. Our eyes widened before we realised we were free and ran towards the door.

I had reached it first, shoving it open only to be met by the sight of Shay bleeding out on the floor due to the arrow in her back. "Oh my god, Shay!" I dropped down beside her, seeing if there was anything I could do.

"Machine room," she choked out, "B Level," she gasped once more before she faded away.

I shook my head sadly, stroking her hair. "I'm so sorry."

Clarke placed her hand on my shoulder. "Let's go."

* * *

As we ran towards the room, we could hear the sounds of a struggle. Octavia increased her pace and kicked the door open, ignoring Bellamy's warning to be careful. What we say was heartbreaking. Luna was holding Derrick in her arms, sobbing. The was a little girl on the floor, crying to herself. Bellamy ran over to her and reassured her that everything was fine. I looked over to the left and was relieved to find Jasper, a little bruised and beaten, but nothing too major. I sighed in relief and ran over to him. I placed my hands either side of his face.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded, "I'm fine. They couldn't break me."

"Okay, good," I started untying his hands.

"Shay?"

I swallowed heavily, willing away the tears that sprang to my eyes. "She had lost too much blood, I couldn't do anything."

"It's what we do," he nodded sadly.

I hugged him tightly. "Jasper, I'm so sorry that you've lost another person." He returned the hug. We pulled away when we heard Luna sob loudly over Derrick's body.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," she cried, hugging him close to her.

* * *

Standing to the side as we watched Luna perform their ritual for one of their own had died, Bellamy leaned into me and spoke quietly.

"Any one of them could be chipped and we'd never know."

"If they are, they'll make their move before we put the Flame in Luna," Clarke replied, "stay sharp."

"Changed her mind?" Jasper wondered, he didn't know about Clarke's new plan.

"Quiet," Clarke snapped as Luna approached us.

"The ceremony is about to begin," she informed us before leaving.

"Luna, wait," Clarke stopped her. Luna turned back. "I'm so sorry. But now you see what we're facing. An enemy that will do anything to win. She won't stop until she has everyone."

Luna held up the flame. "People I love died today. Needlessly. At my hand. I can't let that happen again." Maybe she really had changed her mind. It's a shame that it took losing loved one's for her to be willing to help. Luna turned towards her people. "As we prepare to give our brothers and sister to the sea, we honour their lives." She lifted her cup up high, signalling for everyone else to do the same. _ Kom woda 'so _gyon_ op, gon _woda_ 'so kom daun__ (From water we are _born,_ to water we return)_." Her people repeated her words before we all took a sip from our drinks out of respect.

As soon as Luna turned back to Clarke, the blonde started hatching a new plan. She really wouldn't let Luna breathe for even a second. "If we're gonna do this, we have to hurry. A.L.I.E. will send reinforcements. And we have to find someplace private to perform the Ascension."

"You believe that to defeat an enemy who will stop at nothing, you must stop at nothing," Luna stated, I can already tell this isn't going to end well. "How is that different than blood must have blood?"

"Wait a second, Luna," Octavia protested, "you can't just…" she suddenly started swaying before falling to the ground.

I heard a thud to my right and saw Bellamy fall to the ground, Jasper quickly following. I glanced down at my cup, frowning when I realised it was the drug they gave us to get us here, "oh no," I groaned before my vision turned black and I hit the ground.

* * *

When we came to, we were back on the beach where they had picked us up. Bellamy helped me sit up, taking my face in his hands to check me over.

"I'm okay," I murmured, releasing a sigh of relief when I felt my sword on my waist. I heard Clarke groan and saw her sit up. She glanced down and saw that she still had the flame. We all got up and followed Bellamy over to the edge of the stones.

"Now what?" he asked Clarke. Good question.


	67. Perverse Instantiation (Part 1

Sitting sideways in the front seat of the rover, Elena stared blankly at the slowly melting blanket of snow on the ground in front of her. The only sounds heard were the scraping of metal due to Octavia sharpening her sword and the crunch of the snow under Clarke's pacing feet. They were waiting for the rover to be fully charged before heading back to Arkadia to deliver the bad news.

"Rover's almost charged," Bellamy informed the group. "We need to pack up. We'll be home soon."

Clarke came to a halt beside Elena. "Then what, run away?"

"I'd hardly call this running away, Clarke," Elena snapped. She was irritable because, you know, the whole A.I. takeover and Clarke's inability to accept Luna's rejection wasn't helping. "Luna said no, what else are we supposed to do out here?"

"Elena's right, Clarke. We're not running away," he reassured her, jumping down from the rover and walking over to meet her. "We just need to regroup with the others, and find another way to defeat-"

"There is no other way," Clarke denied stubbornly, earning an eye roll and sigh of annoyance from Elena. "We need to find a Nightblood. We need to unlock the Flame." Elena hopped out of the rover to join the two just as Octavia marched over. "It's the only way to stop A.L.I.E."

"Clarke, enough!" Elena exclaimed, crossing her arms across her chest and glaring at the blonde. "We _know_ what needs to be done and you repeating it over and over again is really starting to piss me off. We get it, okay? We need a freaking nightblood but we can't exactly scour the nation for nightbloods and just expect them to let us take them!"

"That's exactly what we'll do if that's what it takes!" Clarke argued back.  
Elena scoffed, disgruntled at her reply. "You've lost it."

"Clarke, we can't do something like that," Octavia agreed with Elena, "if A.L.I.E. can find us on Luna's rig, then she can find us anywhere. I won't help you destroy another innocent Grounder village."

Clarke shook her head at the two girls, "if we don't find a Nightblood, there won't be any Grounder villages or a home for us to go back to."

Elena sighed slightly and softened her tone, taking a step closer to Clarke. "I know but what good will it do if we lead A.L.I.E. to all of those places where she's free to chip them all, only to find that they have no nightbloods."

"We have to try something," Clarke whispered weakly.

"Look, we need to make sure our friends are okay," Bellamy rested his hand on her shoulder. Clarke looked down and nodded before walking off into the woods.

"She'll be fine. Just let her cool off," Jasper assured them from his seat atop of the front of the rover.

Elena shook her head, "I have to go after her."

"Elena," Bellamy started to protest, thinking it wasn't such a good idea.

She held her hand up to stop him from saying anything else, "she's a pain in the ass but she's just as lost as we are. She's afraid to fail everyone." Elena left them to think about her words and ran off after Clarke.

* * *

"Clarke, hey! Would you slow down? Please?" Elena called out. She saw the blonde's shoulders shrug, presumably because of a sigh but she stopped, nonetheless. She turned to face the brunette, looking expectantly at her. "I know you're frustrated and scared and stressed…and heartbroken," Elena added the last one quietly after seeing the small box Clarke held in her hand. Elena saw a flash of hurt reflected in Clarke's eyes before she pushed it away.

"That has nothing to do with this."

"Maybe not," the brunette appeased her, "but you haven't really been able to talk about what's happened and I think it's just adding fuel to the fire. Clarke, you have been relentless, hard headed and snappy. I get that you're worried but you can't keep snapping and getting angry with everyone around you. We're all on the same side here and we're just as worried as you but we have to think rationally here, we need to regroup and come up with a new plan _together._ If we just decide to go off on our own without letting anyone know, god knows what could happen to us."

Clarke's lips trembled slightly as tears filled her eyes. "I know, I'm sorry," she whispered. "Lexa always thought that I was born to lead but all I seem to do it hurt people or push them away. I don't know what to do anymore, Lena."

Elena wrapped her arms around her best friend tightly. "It's okay, we'll figure something out but Clarke, you. Are. Not. Alone," she emphasised each word. She pulled away and cupped Clarke's face with her hands. "This isn't all just on you, okay?" Clarke held on to her wrists and nodded. Suddenly, the girls heard footsteps behind them and saw a boy running towards them with a gun in his hands, seemingly ready to hit them with it and knock them out. At the exact moment Elena withdrew her sword, an arrow soared through the air and pierced the boy's heart. "What the hell?" She murmured.

"Roan?" Clarke said, surprised to see the Ice Nation King. He made his way over to the two of them.

"He's the Ice Nation King?" Elena asked her friend with a raised brow.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's been following your tracks," was his greeting as he snatched the flame out of Clarke's hand.

"Give that back," Clarke growled, lunging at him.

He merely shoved her away. "Good-bye, Wanheda."

The blonde pulled her gun on him. "Wait."

Roan smacked it out of her hand. "You have a real gratitude problem, you know that?"

"Would you just hear me out?" She pleaded. "I need to find a Nightblood to put that in."

"I already have a Nightblood to put it in."

"Please, just stop."

Elena rolled her eyes, having had enough of the back and forth conversation. She grabbed the collar of Roan's jacket and yanked him back, putting her sword to his neck, digging it in ever so slightly. "We need a nightblood, you have a nightblood, Clarke knows how to insert the flame, you need to insert the flame, do you see a pattern arising here?"

"You want to put the flame in Ontari?" Roan inquired sceptically.

"Yes," Clarke replied. "Let him go, Elena." The brunette did so but not without shoving him harshly away from her.

"Hands where I can see them," they heard Bellamy shout, appearing out of nowhere. He had his gun aimed at Roan.

"Bell, it's okay," Elena told him, motioning for him to walk over to them.

"You two okay?" He asked, shifting his focus from the king to the two best friends.

"Yeah," they nodded.

"Then let's go."

"He's coming with us," Clarke informed them, taking only Bellamy by surprise.

"The hell he is," Bellamy glared at the other man.

"Bellamy, we both want the same thing: to put the Flame in Ontari."

"How do you know he's not chipped?"

"If he were, do you think he would've saved us?"

Bellamy still didn't trust him. "Still, we need to be sure." He lifted his gun up and shot the grounder in the arm before swiftly using his gun to knock him out.

Elena raised her brows and looked at the now unconscious man. "That may have been a little unnecessary," she concluded before shrugging, "but it's done now, so oh well." She turned on her heel, facing the way Bellamy had come from. "That's your mess so you can deal with it." Elena certainly wasn't carrying that guy just because Bellamy decided they couldn't trust him to walk to the rover. "Now, let's go get ourselves a nightblood."

* * *

They arrived back at Arkadia and were greeted by the smiling faces of their friends.

"Glad you made it back," Monty nodded at Jasper with a small smile.

"We were getting worried," Raven teased them with a grin before looking amongst her friends. "Where's Luna?"

"Luna said no," Octavia replied as the others got out of the car. Bellamy pulled Roan out of the vehicle, who was now tied up and gagged.

"Who the hell is this?" Harper asked, watching Roan with distrusting eyes.

"He's Ice Nation," Bryan answered her, seemingly tense.

"The King of the Ice Nation but details," Elena smirked, looking to Clarke who returned her look.

"He's our way into Polis," the blonde finished the introduction.

"This way, Your Highness," Bellamy mocked him, glancing back at Miller and Bryan. "You two, on me. We'll take him to lockup."

Raven quickly figured out their plan, being the genius she was. "You want to use him to get to Ontari."

"Yes," Clarke replied simply.

"What happened to his arm?" Harper asked them, hoping the answer wasn't something that would jeopardise their chances of getting him to help.

"Bellamy shot him," Jasper answered sheepishly.

"Good luck getting him to cooperate," Monty said sarcastically.

* * *

Clarke, Elena and Bellamy went to visit the king in lockup. Once they were in front of Roan, Clarke looked expectantly at Bellamy, silently demanding him to apologise.

"Sorry about your arm," he nodded at the man, not sounding all that sorry in Elena's opinion.

Roan shrugged, "makes us even."

"Like it or not, we need each other," Clarke started, trying to ease her way into the favour they needed.

Roan was a simple man, he didn't need people dancing around the issue. "Cut to the chase, Clarke, you said we wanted the same thing. I want an Ice Nation Commander."

"Like I said before, Clarke has the flame, which is what you need, and you have a nightblood, which is what we need. It's not very hard to figure out where we're going with this," Elena said as if it was the easiest thing in the world to comprehend, which, in her defence, it kinda was.

Roan rolled his eyes at her and made his queries more specific. "Okay, Miss Obvious," Elena smirked mockingly at him, "let me make my question clearer. Why would you make Ontari a legitimate commander when you know she's vowed to wipe you out?"

"We don't have a choice," Clarke sighed defeatedly. "This isn't just our war. The enemy we're up against is after everyone, including the Ice Nation. The only way to stop her is to get the information from the Flame, and the only way to do that is to put it in Ontari's head," she explained in detail.

"The Ice Nation isn't afraid."

Elena shook her head, "why do you people have to be so stubborn?" Clarke and Bellamy both held back a snort at her highly ironic, not to mention hypocritical, words.

Bringing himself back to the important issue at hand, Bellamy stepped forward and spoke. "You should be scared. This thing doesn't care what clan you're from. It controls people, and it will take over the Ice Nation just like it took us over, one person at a time until there is no one left."

"It already has Ontari," Clarke informed him.

They had piqued Roan's interest. "I'm listening."

"We need to disconnect her before she gets the Flame, or we'll be giving A.L.I.E. exactly what she wants. To do that, we have to abduct her from the centre of a city filled with thousands of people who's minds are linked, all of them thinking as one. Whatever one sees, they all see. Whatever one hears, they all hear."

"Nothing too difficult," Elena quipped.

Roan nodded. "I get it," he stood up, "so when do we leave?"

* * *

"Knockout gas, Mount Weather's finest," Nate smirked at Bellamy and Elena as they walked past him. "As soon as they bring Ontari out, we put them to sleep."

Bellamy nodded and clapped him on the shoulder, "nice."

"Because she's chipped, you'll have to EMP her like you did me before you give her the Flame," Raven reminded them, handing Elena the device.

Elena nodded and replied, "got it." She placed in carefully in the back of the rover.

"I thought Jaha destroyed all the wristbands," Jasper said, looking a little nervous.

"So did he," the mechanic grinned, "then I came home. There's only enough usable parts to rebuild one, so use it wisely. Made a few improvements, too."

"None of which is gonna matter if you can't get us access to A.L.I.E.'s code," Clarke told Raven, raising a brow at her questioningly.

Raven grinned. "You worry about the Nightblood. I'll worry about A.L.I.E."

Jasper looked intently at Raven, "How can you access code that doesn't exist here anymore?"

Monty and Raven shared a knowing look. "We've got a plan."

"What are we waiting for?" Octavia called to them impatiently, walking over to them with Roan.

"Let's move out," Bellamy declared, signalling everyone to say their goodbyes.

Elena walked over to Raven and hugged her tightly. "We got this."

The mechanic eagerly returned the hug. "Yeah, we do." The two pulled away and shared a smile before Elena went over to Monty, "stay safe, Monty. And keep an eye on Jasper, will ya?"

"I will," Monty promised, hugging her back. Next, she hugged Harper, then Jasper before heading into the rover with the others.

* * *

"There it is," Clarke announced. "We stop here." They pulled up near the tunnel and everyone jumped out.

"Alright. This is where we split up. The entrance to the tunnel is right over there," Roan explained to them.

Bellamy still didn't like him, so he didn't appreciate having things he already knew explained to him. "Yeah, we know where it is."

Elena sighed and rubbed his arm. "I'm not his biggest fan either but try to get along," she whispered. Bellamy rolled his eyes but wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into him and planting a kiss on the top of her head.

Roan ignored the couple and walked up to Clarke. "I'm gonna need the Flame."

"Of course you are," Elena muttered sarcastically.

"Oh, so you can display your dislike towards him but I can't?" Bellamy asked her quietly with a smirk on his face. She merely grinned at him.

When Clarke didn't give him the flame, he continued his explanation. "Look. This only works if they send Ontari out to get it. If they don't see it, they won't do that, not much of a trap without the bait."

Clarke looked to Elena for advice, who reluctantly nodded her head. The king had a point. "Fine," she paused, eyeing the flame, clearly reluctant to hand it over, "but I'm coming with you."

"Clarke," Elena said, the warning in her tone already very clear as she stepped towards the blonde, "don't you dare. It's too dangerous."

"That is not the plan," Bellamy agreed.

"It is now," Clarke shrugged, "I'm not letting that," she looked at the flame, "out of my sight and I'm the only one who knows the passphrase, so you can tell them that without me, Ontari can't ascend."

After taking a moment to consider it, Roan nodded. "You'll need to look like my prisoner."

"Okay."

"Um, Clarke?" Clarke looked over at Elena. "A moment of your time, if you will?" The brunette gestured to the side, wanting to talk to Clarke privately. Clarke sighed but went with her friend.

"What is it?" Clarke inquired impatiently.

"'What is it' you ask? How about the fact that five minutes ago that guy was willing to take the flame and just walk away. What is to stop him from doing that again, only with hundreds of his people surrounding you? You can't trust him with your life!" Elena lectured her insane friend.

"But I can trust you," Clarke smiled, hoping her answer will calm the girl's nerves. "You, Bellamy and the others will be covering us the entire time and I trust you more than anyone else."

Elena sighed. "Fine, but I swear to god if that guy does anything to you-"

"He won't."

* * *

Running through dark tunnels under an Ice Nation controlled capital wasn't exactly on Elena's bucket list but there she was anyway. She followed Bellamy, keeping silent and simply listening to directions until they reached the room with small windows, perfect for keeping lookout.

"Get these grates open," Bellamy ordered since they couldn't see through them very clearly. "Let's get ready," he aimed his gun and looked through the lens.

"Are we ever gonna be done fighting?" Bryan asked Miller quietly as they readied their guns.

"Hell yes," Miller grinned, "we're gonna build a house on a lake and you're gonna plant corn."

Bryan laughed at the nice thought, "and raise chickens."

"Yeah, and grow old," Miller finished off their fantasy. Bellamy looked over at them before looking at Elena, who swiftly averted her gaze. Of course, he found this slightly odd, hurtful even, but he could understand it. His guess was that she wasn't sure that they'd ever be fighting. He was right. To Elena, right now at least, that was just a nice dream. Sure, she wanted to get married, have kids, whatever, but until now they had barely been surviving, let alone truly living.

"11 o'clock," Bellamy announced once he saw Roan walking into Polis with Clarke. "Roan will signal when he sees Ontari. We wait until she's standing in front of them and then we launch the gas."

"They're gonna be holding their breath, so we got to move fast," Miller told them.

"Anyone who gets in our way, we use nonlethal force. These people are not the enemy. They're being controlled. The only thing we're here to kill is A.L.I.E. Is that clear?"

Octavia nodded. "Clear."

"Clear."

"Clear."

"Let's deactivate the bitch," Elena murmured, peering out towards her friend and the Ice King.

"I am Roan, King of Azgeda and I have what the Commander seeks," Roan proclaimed, holding up the flame. Everyone around them rose to their feet. "I don't like what I'm sensing, so if she wants it, she can come to me." Everyone held their breath, waiting for something to happen. That was when 3 figures came out from the building, one in the front and the other 2 flanking them.

"It's Jaha," Bellamy announced to the others.

"Of course it is," Elena muttered distastefully. This mess was, after all, all Jaha's fault.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Octavia sneered.

"You see Ontari?" Nate asked, approaching the window hesitantly.

"No. Hold," Bellamy replied, sparing him a glance. Jaha spoke to Roan and Clarke for a moment, but the hiding heroes were unable to hear what was said, unlike when Roan was screaming. It was when Elena saw Clarke's gaze turn towards them that she knew things weren't going to go as planned. Not in the slightest.

Bellamy also got the same feeling as Elena. "Something's wrong." The controlled grounders started surrounding and enclosing Clarke and Roan when Roan quickly pulled the blonde into his grasp and pressed a blade against her neck. Elena jolted forward, screaming Clarke's name but Bellamy placed a hand over her mouth to muffle her voice. "Do it. Do it now!" He signalled the others but it was too late. They had been found.

"On your knees! Drop your weapon! Blake, against the wall. Drop it. Turn around!" They were all slammed against the wall, their weapons yanked out of their hands by Jaha's men. Elena watched as Roan released Clarke and attempted to escape, only to be stopped by a gun aimed at his chest. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was. "No," she whimpered, tears starting to blur her vision, "not him, they can't have got him too." The hand holding the gun belonged to none other than Marcus Kane. She sobbed quietly as she watched him pull the trigger, shooting Roan.

* * *

Being forcefully manhandled into the tower was not on Clarke's to do list. She sneered and spat at Jaha as he lead her to the throne room and struggled like her life depended on it. The doors opened to reveal Abby, making Clarke's breath catch in her throat.

Abby smiled, as if there was nothing wrong with the world and welcomed her daughter with open arms. "Clarke," she held the girl tightly, "I've missed you."

Clarke was conflicted, she wanted to enjoy the hug but she couldn't allow herself to get distracted in a situation like this. "I won't take the chip ever," she declared, the defiant look in her eye more prominent than ever.

Abby nodded and smiled again, this smile a calm and contained smile. "Right now, we just need your help with the Flame. What's the passphrase, Clarke?" Clarke refused to answer.

"Stubborn like her mother," Jaha muttered bitterly.

Two men came and grabbed Clarke, yanking her over to the wooden pole in front of the throne, holding her head in place and tying her hands and feet up tightly. "Hey. Hey. Let me go!" Clarke looked tearfully at her mother, "Mom... Mom, please don't let them do this," she begged.

"I'm not letting them do this," Abby replied rather placidly. "I'm doing it." Abby walked over to a bag full of tools as they secured a collar around Clarke's throat. Running her fingers over the medical tools, Abby picked up a scalpel and returned to Clarke. "What's the passphrase, Clarke?" When the girl didn't answer, she pierced the tool into Clarke's skin slowly.

Clarke let out an anguished cry, taking deep breaths as she stared right into Abby's eyes. "Mom, this isn't you. I know you're in there. Please," she ended on a whisper.

But it wasn't enough. "What's the passphrase?"

"No!" Clarke shook her head as a tear fell from her eye.

"It can stop, Clarke," Jaha told her, comfortingly. "Just tell us what we need to know."

Abby shook her head ad turned to face someone, someone who wasn't actually there. A.L.I.E.. "I told you her friends are her weakness." Abby turned back to Clarke, an idea seemingly brewing in her mind. "Start with Elena Kane."

Clarke's eyes widened as she frantically shook her head. "No, Mom, please! Don't hurt her, you don't want to hurt her!" Abby just smirked and shrugged before walking away.

* * *

They were on their knees, surrounded by former guards with guns aimed at their heads. The man who seemed to be in charge was currently punching Miller relentlessly, but no matter how much they wanted to help him, they couldn't. Suddenly the man stopped and straightened his posture. It was as if someone had told him something more important needed to be done. "Let's go. She wants Elena."

Elena's brow furrowed as the others looked just as confused as she. "What?" She murmured before being yanked to her feet by two of the guards. "No! Let me go!"

"Elena!" Bellamy screamed, more alert than ever. He wasn't letting them take her from him. Not when he just got her back. He made a move to stand but the gun aimed at his head made it difficult.

Octavia, on the other hand, did manage to stand up, "where are you taking her?" The answer to her question was an elbow to the stomach.

"No! Leave her alone! Look, I'll go with you willingly, okay? Just don't hurt my friends," her voice trembled at the end as she locked eyes with Bellamy. She gulped, noticing the scared look in his eyes, like this could be the last time they'd see each other. "It's okay," she whispered, nodding her head. "I love you," she smiled briefly, completely focused on Bellamy. Then she looked at Octavia and Bryan and Miller, "all of you." Desperately trying to blink away the tears only lead to shedding them as she let the guards take her away.

"You know, if I were you, I'd hit the deck," a familiar voice warned. Another guard came up beside Elena with a flashlight and shined it upon the person in question.

Elena actually smiled, letting out a relieved sigh. "Murphy?" She'd never been so happy to see the idiot. Her smile disappeared when she actually acknowledged what he said. "Everyone hit the ground!" She yelled, pulling herself out of the men's grip and throwing herself to the floor. Indra and Pike walked up to Murphy, each with a gun in hand and fired a round of shots, killing the guards. Once they were all dead, Elena pulled herself up to sit on her knees. Indra approached her quickly, helping the girl stand and untying her hands. "Indra, I'm so glad you're okay."

"You too," Indra actually smiled at the girl.

"Fancy meeting you here," Murphy smirked at her.

Elena let out a short laugh, "I've never been so happy to see you."

"More will come. We have to hurry," Indra reminded them, helping Octavia up.

"You okay?" Pike asked Bellamy, cutting his ropes. Elena watched them and rolled her eyes.

"Thank you," Bellamy nodded at the ex-chancellor. He turned to Murphy. "What are you doing here?"

"It doesn't matter what he's doing here, he saved us and now he's going to help us, right Murphy?" Elena looked at him expectantly.

"Of course, you know me, just your average hero," Murphy replied sarcastically but Elena looked satisfied with his reply. Murphy looked at Miller with a smirk. "Nathan, you've looked better."

"You haven't," Nate sighed, accepting Murphy's hand.

"You're with Pike?" Octavia sneered at Indra, who had expected this reaction.

"Only way we get out of here is together."

"He killed Lincoln," Octavia informed the woman, making Indra's eyes snap towards Pike with a deadly look in them, "put him on his knees, shot him in the head."

"O.," Bellamy approached him, "Indra's right. We need every fighter we can get."

"You guys missed the part where it's time to go?" Murphy inquired, wishing they'd hurry up.

"Oh no, we're not leaving," Elena answered stepping towards him. "Didn't you hear me, you're going to help us."

Murphy came toe to toe with her, staring her down. "Yeah, help you escape. We just saved your lives. Why do I think I'm gonna regret that?"

"Because you might," she shrugged, happy to admit the truth. "Clarke needs help-"

"You just noticed?" Murphy quipped.

Elena narrowed her eyes at him, though she had to admit, his little joke wasn't awful. "Her and the flame are currently in the tower, where I'm gonna guess Ontari is, as well. Everything needed to deactivate the bitch is in one room." She let the information sink in for a moment.

Octavia shook her head, Elena's plan was crazy. "Elena, if we go up that tower, we won't be able to fight our way out again."

"If we stop A.L.I.E., we won't have to," Bellamy argued, placing his hand on Elena's shoulder to show his support.

Elena looked back at Murphy, pleadingly this time. "We need you, John. This nightmare will all be over if we can just stop A.L.I.E. and it's all right there for us to actually do that."

Murphy contemplated her words, Elena had never asked for his help like this, never put any faith like this. She even used his actual name. He sighed, "up the tower. Great. You know, after this doing the right thing can kiss my ass," he gave her a small smile when he saw her grin at him.

"Okay," Elena began, "let's do this."

* * *

The elevator was operated by two men, who pushed the dial around. They stopped for a moment, both looking exhausted from the hard work. Bellamy noticed their guards were down and nodded to Pike, who shot them.

"Hey!" Bellamy yelled, angrily. "I told you, that is not how we're doing this."

"They were in our way," Pike answered cooly.

"They are innocent people who are being controlled by an AI," Elena spat, already regretting agreeing to work with Pike. "I know the lives of innocents don't matter much to you but they matter to us!"

Pike whirled around and glared coldly at her, "don't tell me that I don't care about the lives of innocents."

"Enough!" Bellamy broke the two up before anything worse could happen. Elena growled and stomped angrily over to the elevator.

"We need to get moving, there's gonna be a lot more of these people if we don't move," Miller ushered them towards the elevator.

"I'll bring it down," Indra offered, pulling the lever.

"Once we're up, you blow the elevator and then climb," Bellamy went over the plan.

"Destroy the ladder behind us," Bryan finished with a nod. "On it."

"Come on," Murphy groaned. "You do realise we don't have a way down, right?"

"A problem for another day," Indra shrugged him off.

Elena rolled her eyes at Murphy. "Will you just quit complaining already? It's not helping anyone."

"I'll stop mine when you stop yours," Murphy retaliated, referring to her near argument with Pike. She merely gave him a short, sarcastic laugh.

"Let's go. Our ride's here," Bellamy said, gently steering Elena over to the elevator, with Murphy in tow. Once they got inside, Bellamy looked at Octavia. "Coming, O?"

"If anything goes wrong down here, they'll need my help. We got this," she assured her brother.

* * *

The elevator made low groaning noises as it made its way through the floors of the tower.

"You get that we're screwed, right?" Murphy asked the other two. "A.L.I.E. already knows that we're coming."

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine," Elena smiled sweetly at him.

"No more than you, Little Miss Grounder," he replied, looking at the hilt of her sword where her hand rested. She rolled her eyes at him for the hundredth time that hour.

"This plan will work," Bellamy refused to believe any differently.

"It has to," Elena added.

They were silent again for a moment before Bellamy asked the question he had been wanting to ask for a while. "Why are you here?"

"I'm just trying to survive. You're not the only one here trying to save someone you care about."

"What, did you get a girlfriend or something?" Elena joked. Murphy's silence spoke volumes. "Oh, you actually did," she said, surprised there was something he'd actually risk his life for. "Well, I'm glad you found someone," Elena gave him a genuine smile.

Murphy huffed a laugh. "Thanks." Unfortunately for them, the lift came to a sudden halt. "Well, that's not good." There was loud banging on the door, signalling the end of their element of surprise.

They were pulling the doors open, despite Bellamy trying to hold them shut. "Murphy, get that baton ready!" Elena withdrew her sword. She didn't want to kill them but in a situation like this, she might have to. "Shock him, Murphy!" Murphy lurched forward and shocked every person that tried to get into the elevator, while Elena used her sword to cut and stab everyone, in non-fatal areas, who tried to pull Bellamy out. Finally, there was one left standing, who Bellamy kicked away. Unfortunately, their win was shortly lived as the others got up and charged at them, with one eventually breaking through the doors and into the elevator. Bellamy remained at the doors, kicking them away and closing the doors when they finally start going up again. The one who had managed to get through jumped on Murphy, beating him and choking him until Elena slammed the hilt of her sword against his head, leaving him unconscious.

The man fell on top of Murphy who groaned and shoved him off. "Is he dead?" He looked up at the brunette.

"Shouldn't be, just unconscious," she answered honestly. "I wasn't trying to kill him."

Bellamy offered Murphy a hand and pulled him up. "Thank you."

"We're almost at the top. We should climb onto the roof now." Elena suggested as she looked up at the ceiling. The others agreed and Bellamy locked his hands together in order to give Elena a boost. Holding onto his shoulders to maintain her balance, Elena stared into Bellamy's eyes for a moment, her nerves getting the best of her.

Bellamy was nervous too but he didn't want to make her anymore anxious than she already was. He licked his lips and took a deep breath. "We can do this," he whispered. Bellamy was always one to notice the smallest details, so he didn't miss the way her lips trembled slightly.

"Let's go save humanity," Elena whispered back, brushing her lips against his gently, briefly, but lovingly. He hoisted her up and she slid open the small door, lifting herself up onto the roof before aiding Bellamy and Murphy's climb up. The three of them put their gas masks on and waited quietly as they finally reach the top, listening as they opened the doors and cautiously walked inside, obviously confused. Bellamy got out the can of red gas, opened the door and released it into the elevator, knocking them unconscious. Jumping down, Murphy took the lead, having been in the tower the longest. Bellamy made Elena go in the middle since she didn't have a gun with a light on it. Reaching the doors of the throne room, they all removed their masks, gearing up for a fight. They heard Clarke's scream from inside and that was all it took for Elena to slam the doors open.

"Bellamy, stop him!" Clarke shouted, not even surprised to see them. Bellamy shot at Jaha as Elena quickly surveyed the room, spotting Abby hanging from a noose almost immediately, "oh my god," she gasped and rushed over to her. Murphy followed her, lifting Abby's body so Elena was free to cut the rope. Climbing on top of the barrel, she used her sword to saw away at the ropes, eventually freeing the doctor, who was caught by Murphy. Elena leapt off the barrel and fell to her knees beside Abby, gently removing the rope from her neck and placing the back of her hand near Abby's lips. She held her breath as she waited to feel a gentle puff of air against her skin.

Bellamy was helping Clarke as she stared at Elena and her mother. "Is she alive? Is she breathing?"

Elena released her breath in the biggest sigh of relief she could manage when she felt Abby's breath brush against her skin. She nodded at Clarke, "she's breathing."

Clarke mirrored Elena's actions before turning her focus back to the Flame and Ontari. "Jaha has the Flame. Get it." Bellamy nodded and ran over to Jaha while Clarke attended to Ontari. Elena told Murphy to stay with Abby before joining Clarke. "We can't let Ontari die," the blonde told her best friend, "we have to stop the bleeding." Elena pressed two fingers to Ontari's neck, feeling a weak pulse. She was just glad she had a pulse.

Bellamy ran back over to them with the bag and the flame. "I got the Flame."

Elena shifted her eyes back up to Clarke, who had already been looking to her for an answer. "Ontari's pulse is weak but she's alive."

Clarke handed Elena a rag, "here. Hold this to the wound." Elena pressed it against Ontari's head but she knew it wasn't much use, she was just losing too much blood.

"Come on, what are you gonna do?" Murphy asked, thinking they were wasting their time. The girl had a deep head wound, her chances of living weren't very high.

"I need a flashlight," Clarke was beginning to panic, Elena could see it in the way her hands were shaking.

Bellamy decided to fill Murphy in on what they were actually doing. "First, we take out the chip. Then we put in the Flame."

Having had enough of watching Clarke fumbling around, Elena rested her hand on Clarke's, making the blonde look at her. "Let me find it, hold this in place." Clarke nodded reluctantly. The girls swapped positions, allowing Elena to search the bag with her steadier hands. "Found it," she murmured. Leaning forward, she gently lifted one of Ontari's eyelids and shone the light into her eye. "Oh no."

"Her pupils are unresponsive," Clarke whispered fearfully,

"What? What does that mean?" Bellamy asked them.

"She's brain dead," Elena replied regretfully, running the hand free of Ontari's blood through her hair.

"She can't give us the kill code. It's over," Clarke nearly sobbed.

"We're trapped here," said Murphy, ever the realist, reminding everyone just how terrible their situation was.


	68. AN 4

Hey guys, hope you all enjoyed the most recent chapter! I just wanted to remind you that if you have any one shot/au/reader imagine requests, let me know and I'll see what I can do for you :)


	69. Save the First Kiss for Me

**So Commander of death requested a one shot that involves Bellamy and Elena back on the ark! This takes place when Elena is 16, therefore Bellamy is 21. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

When it came to boys hassling her for a date, Elena was no pushover. If she didn't like the guy, she wouldn't accept, she would kindly decline and wish for them to remain friends - if they even were friends. They often couldn't find fault in her rejection since she the way in which she executed her rejection was so gentle and sweet. They wouldn't push back, just simply leave her alone. But, of course, there is an exception to every rule and her exception happened to a blonde named Caden. Yes, the very same boy who had all but cornered her and pestered her for a day. This particular boy just could not take a hint, even though he thought she had a boyfriend. Unfortunately, he had disproved her original thoughts on him and had turned out to be a complete jerk.

"So, Elena, you, me and the dance, how does that sound?" He asked with what he believed to be a charming smirk on his face. He had followed her home, calling out to her when they came to an empty hallway. Elena could firmly argue against his beliefs. Caden's smirk wasn't the attractive, teasing smirk of Bellamy Blake, it was smug in the worst way and made her want to wipe it off his face with a nice, swift fist.

"It sounds great if you subtract me from the equation," she replied sweetly, a sarcastic shrug accompanying her reply. She was way past being polite with this guy. He left a bad taste in her mouth and she wanted nothing more than to be out of his presence.

"Aw, c'mon, don't be like that," he pouted (it looked ridiculous), flirtatiously as he rested an arm against the wall on the right side of her head.

Elena gritted her teeth. She couldn't have been more disgusted in that moment. "Get the hell away from me, Caden."

Caden sneered down at her and tightly grabbed ahold of her wrists, so tight it would leave them red, and placed one of his legs between hers. "Listen to me, I've had enough of you playing hard to get so here's how things will go: you will do exactly as I say because I have done nothing but dote on you and all I've gotten in return is you being a complete bitch towards me," he hissed into her ear as she struggled against him.

She was both shocked and terrified. Yes, she knew he was persistent and a dick, but she never thought he'd physically force her to do anything. Her whole body began to tremble as tears rushed to her eyes when she realised they were alone in the hallway. "Let go of me, you creep!" She struggled to no avail, his grip was too strong. "Get off me!" Elena yelled as he leaned closer to her face. He was going to kiss her. He was going to steal her first kiss. Only, he didn't. Caden was ripped away before he could. There, in front of her, Bellamy had the smaller boy pinned against the wall. The blonde swung his fist at Bellamy, who dodged it and landed a hit on Caden's face instead. Caden fell to the floor, holding his now bloody nose. Elena breathed out a shaky sigh of relief, not bothering to wipe the fallen tears off of her face. She allowed her body to slide down the wall, curling up into a protective ball.

"You bastard! I'll report you for this!" Caden screamed at Bellamy, pulling himself off the ground.

"For what? Doing my job? Protecting a citizen? Go ahead, I'm sure the head of security would love to hear all about how you tried to sexually harass his daughter! We've got all the security footage we need," Bellamy argued back, pointing to the security camera in the corner, "I'm sure it would be much appreciated."

"Woah, hey, there's no need to get anyone else involved in this, okay? I'll leave her alone, she's not worth it anyway," Caden spat, his gaze on the shaken girl on the floor.

Bellamy yanked Caden towards him by the collar. "If I ever so much as hear about you looking at her, I will kill you myself, got that?" He threatened menacingly, voice deeper than ever. Caden nodded fearfully, bolting out of the room when Bellamy shoved him away.

Bellamy was by Elena's side in a flash, taking her face in his warm hands. "You're safe now, Princess," he rested his forehead against her, his heart breaking as he listened to her quiet sobs. "Everything's okay now," he brushed his nose against hers. "C'mon, let's go," he gently lifted her up bridal style and carried her to their lounge.

* * *

Once there, he sat down and placed her gently in his lap, keeping his arms wrapped tightly around her. He stroked her hair, placed kisses all over her face and whispered sweet nothings in her ear as she let out all the fear and hurt she felt. When he deemed her calm enough to talk, he asked her to tell him how she was feeling.

"I was so scared, I don't want to even think about what might have happened if you hadn't of showed up," she spoke quietly, hiccupping several times.

"Let's not, then, okay?" He replied, his tone gentle and soothing.

"All I could think was he was going to take my first kiss from me. Something I treasure, something I wanted to be special, with someone who truly cares about me," Elena admitted, shaking her head as the scene replayed in her mind. She didn't know why it was so important, perhaps it was the fact she was brought up reading and believing in fairy tales. She looked up at Bellamy through her tear soaked lashes. "Will you-" she began but hesitated, shaking her head once more. No, she thought, it was a bad idea.

Bellamy reached up to brush her curls away from her face, "will I what?"

"It's just…" she reluctantly started, staring down at her jean clad legs.

"Princess, you can tell me anything; ask me anything," he reassured her, noticing her reluctance.

She sighed and nodded. Licking her lips, she sought for the right words to say. "I just, I don't want to wait around for something so important to happen, only for it to be ruined by something like what just happened. I don't want that to happen again, Bell."

"And it's highly unlikely that it will," Bellamy replied, confused as to where she was going with this.

"But it might," she argued, "so I don't want to wait anymore. Bellamy, I want-" her heart beat increased, rapidly pounding against her chest as she built up the courage to ask him. "I want someone who truly loves me to be my first kiss. I want you to kiss me." There, she finally said it. She held her breath as she waited for his response.

"Elena…"

She could hear the reluctance in his voice and her stomach dropped. Of course he wouldn't want to kiss her. She was so stupid. But still, she had to insist. "Please?" She whispered pleadingly. "I know that it won't mean anything to you because I'm just your best friend but I just…I just need this, okay?"

That wasn't the problem at all. The problem was that it would mean too much to him and too little to her. He knew that this had all come about because of what she had experienced, it wasn't because she really wanted him to be her first, she just wanted someone who she knew loved her platonically. Bellamy wasn't sure if he'd be able to go back to being just her friend after he had a taste of her. However, because it was Elena asking, he knew he'd agree and suffer through the pain because she meant everything to her and if this would make her happy, then so be it. "Okay," he nodded. She gave him a small smile filled with nerves. Bellamy gulped, hoping she wouldn't notice how nervous he was, and lifted a hand to cup her cheek. As he leaned closer, he felt her warm breath against his lips as she exhaled nervously. Finally, he brushed his lips against her gently, both of their eyelids fluttering to a close as they basked in the warmth of each other's lips. Elena's dainty hand coming up to rest on his chest while the other one, a little braver, entangled itself in his hair as Bellamy pressed his lips against hers a little harder. Their lips moved in perfect sync as they grew more comfortable with the situation. To Elena it was sweet, magical and just perfect. Just her and Bellamy in their special place, sharing a tender moment. One she'd never forget. They pulled away and smiled brightly at each other. "So, how was that for a first kiss?" Bellamy inquired quietly, not wanting to break the good atmosphere between them.

"It was perfect," Elena whispered back. It's just a shame they'd have to wait a year to share their second kiss.


End file.
